Black Out
by Aura
Summary: Spoilers. Set after the events of Dishonored 2 with a couple of minor changes to the endings. The Outsider finds himself in need of Emily's help, and he's almost as surprised as she is by the unexpected events. Can they find a way to fix the damage Emily caused with her final desc ion, and after they get to know one another...will they even want to? Rating may rise to M later.
1. Silence

_Warnings:_ Spoilers and Fiction. If you haven't finished both games I wouldn't read this. The spoilers are immediate. You were warned. Also, this is a work of fiction and I will be coming up with much of my own storyline as I work with the characters we already know and some npcs for the sake of extra folks as needed. This is an Emily/Outsider story and there will be elements of romance but they will come in a bit later to slowly ease into the romance.

 **Story Name:** **_Black Out_**

 **Chapter One:** ** _Silence_**

 _"Silence is unabatedly hungry…it seeks at all times to take over, and if allowed, it will drown you, it will drown everything in the end…"_

 _The Outsider -_

The world turned off.

It was gone.

The connection I held to the cosmos for centuries, time beyond most mortal's comprehension of it - was gone. The world seemed more a void than the realm I'd called home since the time of my rebirth. The well of my incredible knowledge of both past and future had dried up and I felt parched for so much more than water. What was this?

The girl…girls, a pair of them…a half-born and a highborn…

 _Empress…_

…she'd gone to face Delilah through the painting. What then? They were in the void…I had felt them…but I can't remember specifics other than they fought. Why did it hurt? I'd felt pain before, I still remembered well enough the agonies of my mortal life despite the time I spent separated from it. I had been poor in my mortal life. Now though? It ached everywhere, though no place as acutely as the loss in his mind. The void…I could no longer feel it…and its loss was as harsh as an arctic field without a coat – biting into me. Did Emily lose? …had Delilah finished what she started? Had she stolen the void from me?

 _Impossible._

I was overreacting, Delilah had not been placed in the void as I had – she had taken a part of me but not the whole – that much I could still feel. A hole inside of me that was missing after Delilah's spells – it was small at first but larger now. She'd stolen more of me then…she'd somehow locked me in the mortal realm. But to what end?

 _Emily Kaldwin._

The one I called the Empress…her name was Emily. Empress Emily. It sounded a bit silly when you thought about it put together that way. The damned girl…was supposed to kill Delilah, everything had been laid out in a way to get the girl to murder this grand larcenist. She surprised me, she'd picked the least likely path and saved even the very woman that had arranged her mother's murder and her father's mystical imprisonment. That had stolen her throne.

 _…and I'd called Delilah clever. What a wasted sentiment on an overdressed bandit…_

I paused at the thought. When was the last time I'd taken something so personally?

 _Never…_

It wasn't a comfortable recognition. Nor was it completely true…I certainly planned to blame and curse many people…when I was still alive. When I was still deluded I could escape my fate. The stillness for some is what they require for focus, but I was so accustomed to the noise that this silence had my mind reeling…trying to dig for a drop of water in a desert. I was distracted with many unneeded thoughts as I tried to device what may have occurred. What had happened to me?

I blinked once, then again, squinting my eyes at the bright light glaring at me from nearby. It wasn't the sun; if the irritating glossy glare didn't give that away the hum of electricity did. The room was blurry at first, lots of shadows difficult to make out beyond the glare, but there were leaves, vines…I knew this place…this was the same room Emily had left from to enter the void. The throne room of Dunwall…

I picked myself up, stumbling a moment on the uneven floor. I hadn't been knocked down in millennia either. I wasn't enjoying most of these reacquaintances with the 'mortal' realm. The pain was starting to leave me, but I was still aware of it after so many centuries without. A glance showed me the statue that was Corvo Attano among a dozen or so other stone statues. Closer to the glaring spotlight was a body I recognized. The very Empress I'd pushed toward Delilah's removal…the last mortal I'd given my mark to, one of the few in the world that could call upon my power…

I picked my way over the uneven ground, frowning at the tepid speed of human movement. I reached down to touch the Empress, pausing a moment at the feel of something under my fingers, the coarse thread she'd been forced to wear in her days spent retaking her own throne. It was the first thing I'd felt in centuries and the sensations as I realized they were there overcame me a moment. The slight scent of the girl beneath the heady dirt. The coppery metallic tang in the air from all the blood that had been spilled here. The hum and sparks of the wiring that kept the glaring light on, casting the room in shadow beyond its narrow focus. I shook my head of the distraction, I didn't have the leisure to enjoy or condemn the minute details of mortality.

Her head hung at first when I lifted her up slightly, limp and delicate, little more than the child she'd been during my first look at this city. I shook her shoulders, causing her head to bob back and forth. For a moment she was so unresponsive I would have feared her death if not for the warmth beneath her thick clothing. I couldn't let her rest, she had to tell me what had happened.

"What happened in the void?" I demanded, my voice slightly harsher than I'd meant it but it was hard not to overreact. Losing all my visions and whispers of the world left me feeling vulnerable for the first time since my new life had started. I was a bit out of practice with moderating myself in a human body…I didn't like it. I didn't like any of this…had I just been born a third time?

 _Two more lives than most get…_

"…Ow…oh, I'm awake…my head…O…Outsider? Is this…"

"It is not a dream, this is not the void. With Delilah, what did you do?" I interrupted her to further expand my query. Whatever had happened I needed knowledge to fix it, and while I remembered much without my connection to the void I lacked what I really wanted to know.

"The ritual, her ritual, I built an extra corrupted rune to put on her throne…I thought it would stop her. She's not here." Emily looked as confused as I felt. She had little for a poker face when she wasn't actively trying. I suppose I couldn't blame her for being shocked, I shouldn't be here. I let go of her to leave her rubbing her arms while I went to inspect the throne. My dark eyes looking it over swiftly before I sighed…it wasn't right…Delilah's spell was off to begin with - if only slightly. By itself it wouldn't have done incredible harm…but the extra corruption had driven it past the realm of normal control.

So, this had been what evicted me, what had allowed the crook to take more of my essence? Would Delilah replace me then? I shook my head at myself for the repeated worry, dismissing it as immediately as earlier. No, I still had strength, I'd simply been cut off from the void somehow…which meant Delilah was likely trapped inside it. If it wasn't for the specific trade being me I probably wouldn't have minded it. She couldn't take what I had however, she was too power hungry, too eager. I earned my power specifically by not wanting it the day they cut my throat…

"Um…are you okay?" Emily sounded nervous, not a common sentiment from the strong leader she'd become in her days looking at her empires failing from the bottom.

I turned, blinking at the items that had begun to float into the air, when I wasn't paying attention to my powers they'd simply started to activate in reaction to my displeasure. I would need to be wary of that given the amount of mortals here. Dunwall was crawling with as many humans as the sewers during the rat plague…

"Empress! Empress Emily are you all right?" Calls of guards trying to break down the door interrupted my thoughts and I forced my attention on Emily again.

"I…need time…tell no one else I am here. Not even father dearest. I will meet you in your room, at sunset, alone." I wasn't accustomed to either making requests or giving orders and was simultaneously bad at both. Still, a crack in the wood didn't allow me to make any apologies, I vanished into shadows just before any witnesses arrived on scene that could connect me to having been here.

I was on the rooftop a moment later, my mind reeling from the relocation. Teleportation in the void was easy enough but in the mortal world there was so much more to assail you when you moved so suddenly. The fresh air was a nice change, and the taste of the salt near the ocean a strange one. The wind was powerful, harsh on my chest so I let it push me into a seated position against the slant of the tiles. I didn't feel weak per say, just disoriented…I hadn't used my magic in the world of men and I had to adjust to it. Perhaps this was how those with my Mark felt the first few times they used it. If it passed for them, it would undoubtedly pass for me as well. I would sit on the roof for a while and try to figure out how to fix this, watching the horizon as the sun began to rise. I'd left her with an entire day to get whatever affairs in order she could while I thought about how I could fix this closing of the void…

 _Emily –_

In the end, I wasn't sure if I had won or if Delilah had. The battle was long and I'd defeated so many of her doppelgangers by its end that I figured one of them had to be the real one…then again. The way everything hurt I was starting to doubt that possibility. This was worse than the time I took the several stories fall while training with Corvo, and I'd broken a lot of bones then. I wasn't sure if everything or nothing was broken, but I knew everything was agony. My left side felt warmer than my right, my stomach churned and if I'd eaten anything any recent hour I knew it wouldn't still be there. Was something moving me? I haven't felt vertigo in ages, not since I managed to adjust to pulling myself across distances with the mark's powers - but it was not pleasant. Why wouldn't they stop and just let me keep my eyes closed?

"…Ow…oh, I'm awake my head…" That hurt the worst as I blinked my eyes open, prepared to admonish whoever was shaking me so violently to stop when the words instead mutated into shock. "O…Outsider? Is this?"

"It is not a dream, this is not the void." He said immediately. Seeming able to read my thoughts no matter what world he was in. His voice was urgent, insistent, it was the most emotion I'd heard out of him since most of our interactions tended to be strange history lessons. "With Delilah, what did you do?"

"The ritual, her ritual, I built an extra corrupted rune to put on her throne…I thought it would stop her. She's not here." I said, explaining as best I could while I tried to wrap my brain around what was basically a god just leaning down next to me in my destroyed throne room. I was relieved when he let go so I could rub my arms, they hurt where he'd pressed his fingers in while shaking me. I supposed it could have been worse given the power he'd been able to give me. He…shouldn't be here though, that much I knew. Had I screwed up something without realizing it? Should I have just tried to kill Delilah instead of incapacitating her with the magic?

I was still a novice after all…what if I only had made things worse by trying to help?

The room had moved, stones and metal were floating up off the ground and there was a slight wind curling around the dark-haired man staring at my handiwork. If I had to guess, I'd say it was a very bad sign if he was telekinetically lifting parts of the room. When the statue of my father started to shift, I grew scared enough to speak up despite not wanting to.

"Um…are you okay?" I knew I sounded scared but who wouldn't with a god having just woken you up with such a poor attitude? If he wanted to kill me what could I do? He was the very creature that I'd drawn power from during my quest to remove Delilah.

He didn't look at me, which was just as well. His gaze was unnerving even when it was in a dream state – I wasn't sure how well I'd take them here in reality. His eyes were darting this way and that over the throne as he seemed to be trying to come up with an answer, then the guards outside spoke for him. "Empress! Empress Emily are you all right?"

I didn't know anyone was even still alive here, it came as a welcome relief to hear that there were still people in my country willing to back me as they called my name. That recognized that I'd been here fighting for them. I swallowed though when I looked back and the Outsider had his full attention on me. Even in the real world his eyes were depthless pools of darkness, I felt my chest start at the intense stare. I didn't know what I should do, I half wanted to run until he spoke, his uncertainty was nerve-wracking but severed the momentary terror his gaze inspired.

"I…need time…tell no one else I am here. Not even father dearest. I will meet you in your room at sunset, alone." Then he was gone. I didn't have a chance to reply to his remarks. What could I even say? As far as I knew I'd just hit my head hard during the fight. Then his words sank deeper.

Father!

I ran to the statue, relieved as the stone started to fade from my father's face at my touch. I'd managed to save him after all. We would have a lot to discuss. He didn't know anything after this nightmare started, and with the Outsider here I wasn't sure it was over.

 **End Chapter**

Whee, I really liked the idea of this pairing after learning more about the Outsider in the second Dishonored game. I don't know why but I just really like it. Hopefully I'll continue to have the time to work on it. I really loved Dishonored 2 and I hope they make more games. Thanks to any readers/reviewers for your time!

 _-Aura_


	2. Sleep

**Chapter Two:** ** _Sleep_**

 _"The concept of sleep is terrifying. An uninterrupted black…being turned off like a switch on some mechanical trinket that needs a new battery. Until one day, the light doesn't come back on…"_

 _Emily -_

I wanted to mention my vision to my father. I wanted to tell him absolutely everything - so much that it hurt not to. However, I'd had so much to catch him up on I didn't need to embellish while still skipping my interactions with the Outsider to fill a lot of time. I avoided mention of my own use of magic or the mark at all. I didn't know what the Outsider wanted me to say or not say and I wasn't completely convinced the Outsider I'd seen was real. I knew that Corvo could also use the Outsiders magic. Nonetheless, as I explained to father all the events since he'd been imprisoned I wasn't about to throw my supernatural benefactor under the bus just to feel good talking to my father – he would understand if later I could explain all of this. I hoped the Outsider would bring him in, there was no one I trusted more with a secret than father.

Even leaving my experiences and conversations with the Outsider out of my conversation it was well past noon by the time I could explain all that had happened to father. I already had soldiers asking for things to do, and with father's help we were starting to get a plan together for cleaning up the palace and setting things right in Dunwall. Corvo lacked the time to tell me what he thought about all that he'd heard but he'd given me a hug and whispered that he was glad I was all right. It was all the reassurance I needed to get through my day of decisions and order making. It was only going to get harder once things were cleaned up – I couldn't just rule from behind the councils anymore, I had to know what was going on so I didn't allow another Delilah and the Duke to come along and take it from me.

Still, it was past sunset when I was finally able to feel comfortable enough in my own room to retire there. Not that I wanted to sleep – even with new bedding acquired I couldn't get past the idea that Delilah had slept in the same spot – I would need to move the layout of the room or pick a different room entirely if I ever wanted to sleep here soundly again. I sighed at the paperwork already piled on my desk, how had they gotten to it so quickly? Still, it was far less a burden now that I'd fought to get this position back.

"Already rebuilding? Or would you rather still run away?" The echo laden voice of the Outsider drew me from the papers to where he was sitting on my windows ledge, looking around my room as opposed to at me. Small favors.

 _I suppose it was too much to hope that all of this was over now…that he'd just been a hallucination…_

"I'm never running away. Dunwall is mine, and I'm going to fix it." I stated, frowning at his indication that I would do any less. My lips pulling a bit more downward at the slight smile he'd offered my quick response, I got the feeling he knew what I would say before I'd reacted. I didn't know which to ask first and two of my questions came out as one. "How…Why are you here?"

"The ritual Delilah used, that you sabotaged, brought me here…and if I'm right, trapped Delilah in the void. It ripped a separation in the fabrics of the two realities, it pulled them further apart somehow. Of course, it's just conjecture based on what was used, but I expect if I'm not fully right, I'm close to it." The Outsider explained, an easy confidence to his words even while he admitted there could be fault. Had he ever done that before? Not that I could remember in my short interactions with him…

"You…you are here…but immortal then? Like Delilah was?" I asked, I didn't know what else to say. This was all a bit much.

"I am unsure, I'd rather not test the theory and be wrong." The Outsider replied, returning his eyes to me after he'd finished looking over my room. He slipped off the sill and walked toward my desk. It was a strange thing, watching him do something as 'common' as walking. At the same time he was smooth, effortless, without sound as he stepped across the stone parts of my floor. "I will need your help Empress Emily Kaldwin, to get back to the void."

"My help?" I laughed at the absurdity of the remark. "Aren't you a god? Can't you just fix it yourself? If you didn't notice I have a whole realm here to rebuild and take care of. It's a busy job."

"It is, but is it not also the job of a leader to help her citizens in need? I'm certainly that, do you think me walking freely about the streets would end well? There are too many that mindlessly worship me as it is, much to the chagrin of your churches, do you realize the chaos that would cause?" He pressed as he sat on the edge of my desk as opposed to the window – perhaps if he was still in the void he'd have simply broken apart and reformed there as he'd done so many times in my visions of that place.

"You aren't really a Dunwall citizen, but you have a point." I sighed as I admitted it. Even without him having a knowledge of the future it didn't take much to see that his presence in the populace would be dangerous to my people. What choice did I have? "So, say I help you? What can I even do for you that you can't do yourself? Can't you just change time? Make it so I didn't do things the way I did."

"Not this time." He shook his head at me as his gaze dropped to the carpet, looking through it as opposed to at it. He seemed so frustrated even if it didn't show on his face…

"We'll figure it out." I reassured, reaching out subconsciously to put a hand on his knee. I'd always felt empathy for people when they were in a bad spot and I got the feeling he certainly wasn't where he wanted to be. He wasn't where he should be…he didn't belong in my world…it was strange that I could even touch him. Which made me realize I had and I pulled my hand back, shaking my head and wishing I didn't feel the heat rising to my cheeks. "I apologize…I just…we'll figure it out."

"Thank you for the sentiment Empress…" I could feel his eyes on me but I left my gaze on my papers even without reading them. I had to be more careful, this creature wasn't human, he was a god…what were all those classes on diplomatic interaction for if I let myself forget them after a few months off the throne? I made note to react better as I glanced up, planning to nod at his appreciation but he'd already moved, he was standing by my fireplace staring at it. My lips quirked a bit, while I figured he was just a quiet mover even when he walked it reminded me of our time in the void…it reflected the thoughts I was having as to his supernatural status.

I wondered what it was like, to have lived as a wisp on the edge of our reality for so long, to suddenly be pushed back into it. He certainly made it obvious he wasn't here because he wanted to be, but I didn't know what implications his presence had beyond the general dangerous ones. I doubted he would tell me much if I pressed. If I wanted him to talk I needed to let him confide in me as opposed to pushing for it. Maybe all my studies in diplomacy would help me after all…

 _The Outsider –_

The Empress was late…

A concept that had been lost on me until today.

I didn't concern myself with time in the void, but here it passed differently – quickly at times but painfully slowly in others. Was this my new fate? To walk the path of the mortals, not effecting fate as I once had? My abilities were strong enough, I could still feel power in my veins, but I lacked an outlet to see just what I was capable of while waiting on the rooftops. Instead I'd wasted hours attempting to call forth the void or return to it, that is when I wasn't contemplating how to fix it. With nothing more to show for my attempts to contact the void than a headache and several blackened tiles – turned so by my frustration best I could tell. I had a fair idea how to reverse it but it hinged on either causing issues in the world, which I preferred to avoid, or relying on the young woman whose mercy inspired this mess for aid. Certainly, it was clear that despite my capabilities I was quite stuck here. The other world had been cut off not just to me…but all together from my observations of it so far.

Was this emptiness solely what had been stolen by Delilah? No, there was more to it than that. So much more. I missed it, the void had become my home…and now it was gone. It was incredibly lonely to be the only one in my head after so many years of visions and whispers… Was this how Emily had felt the day Delilah had walked into her court? Was that why I'd chosen to confide in her out of my handful of Marked? To a point, she seemed the most likely to really comprehend it. Still, her tardiness was far from agreeable…

Speak of the devil…

I could hear them finally leaving her quarters, though the sun had set hours ago. The mortals that had spent the day changing her linens, cleaning the various stains, and tidying up in general. The point was to make it beautiful enough for a queen…the people took her back so readily but they couldn't be expected to do less after the slaughter Delilah had turned the capital into. They would wash the blood away eventually, and apparently had started with the tower this very day…hopefully the water wouldn't be completely stained by the time it reached the common folk in the gutters…

When I poked my head in after the noise had died, Emily was at her desk, looking at papers – the bureaucracy never rested even in a city whose government was nearly exterminated. I canted my head at her as she sighed at the work, that was what she'd returned here for after all. My next remark came out harshly, a sign I was letting her making me wait get to me. "Already rebuilding? Or would you rather still run away?"

"I'm never running away. Dunwall is mine, and I'm going to fix it." She stated with the same fire that had inspired me to allow her to take my power. That and my need for her to kill the witch…at least one out of two on the choice wasn't a complete failure. Then she asked me a question I could expect without seeing the future. "How…Why are you here?"

"The ritual Delilah used, that you sabotaged, brought me here…and if I'm right, trapped Delilah in the void. It ripped a separation in the fabrics of the two realities, it pulled them further apart somehow. Of course, it's just conjecture based on what was used, but I expect if I'm not fully right, I'm close to it." I explained. I had wasted much of the day on attempts to return but when I wasn't doing that I'd considered for some time the implications of the ritual and the way that Emily had interrupted. I was certain of my assessment, as much as in my way to fix it.

"You…you are here…but immortal then? Like Delilah was?" Emily pressed. I hadn't expected that comparison but I should have. I supposed it was a fair enough thought.

"I am unsure, I'd rather not test the theory and be wrong." I admitted with a small shrug, so slight she may not have noticed my disinterest in the topic. I doubted that anything short of spectacular could harm me even in a mortal body, a part of me was one with the void even if I was cut off from it presently. I headed inside instead of skulking in the window, moving closer to where she was working and settling against the side of the desk she wasn't using so we could speak more easily. I was much more accustomed to being close on those occasions I spoke to mortals. "I will need your help Empress Emily Kaldwin, to get back to the void."

"My help?" She let out the phrase in a laugh, and I had to keep my composure as much as I wanted to scowl at her amusement. "Aren't you a god? Can't you just fix it yourself? If you didn't notice I have a whole realm here to rebuild and take care of. It's a busy job."

"It is, but is it not also the job of a leader to help her citizens in need? I'm certainly that, do you think me walking freely about the streets would end well? There are too many that mindlessly worship me as it is, much to the chagrin of your churches, do you realize the chaos that would ensue?" I replied, hoping my plea would induce her and if not the logic of my argument would probably do the trick. She had fought long and hard to return to her throne, she would be loath to do anything to harm it.

"You aren't really a Dunwall citizen, but you have a point." She admitted. How little she knew…did she never wonder why I kept track of this city above so many others? I had called this area home ages before it was known as Dunwall – I was far more a native than the ones present now. I didn't correct her however, instead listened as she continued. "So, say I help you? What can I even do for you that you can't do yourself? Can't you just change time? Make it so I didn't do things the way I did."

"Not this time." I looked away from her. I didn't want to admit my own weakness, that I had been torn apart from the very fabric of my power – that which would have allowed me to augment time the way I had for her. All of this was so very new…asking for help was a first experience for me…I'd been poor at it in my first life…and without the need for it in my second.

"We'll figure it out." She stated, a sentiment I should have seen favorably – but then she also touched my leg. I didn't know what to think about the sensation. The last time I'd been touched was far from kind, and this…the gesture of it was something that shocked me so much I didn't even move at first. Was this what kindness felt like? A bit of that hole inside of me didn't seem quite as painful despite knowing her reassurances meant little if she didn't back them up with action… "I apologize…I just…we'll figure it out."

She withdrew shortly afterward, as though thinking better of her reaching out. By the time I recovered to look at her she was staring at her work without seeing it. She was embarrassed? Why? Was it weak for her to react with empathy? Was she afraid? So many were afraid…

"Thank you for the sentiment Empress…" I didn't want her to fear me, though I wasn't quite certain what else to say to her show of kindness. I was confused, and I very much didn't enjoy being confused. I walked away from the desk as much for her comfort as my own, moving to stare at the fireplace instead, watching the flames flickering at its center. Everything was so much more vivid here than the void…all my senses seemed ready to betray me. I let the silence last, probably longer than I should have if I had frightened her – but there suddenly wasn't enough time to decipher what I should say compared to yesterday…

"The ritual will need to be reversed." I pressed toward my goal as opposed to wasting time considering our short interaction. It didn't matter, and nor would it once I was back to the void where I should be. "It will require a few things. Someone that was present – which would be you. The place closest to the disturbance in this world, your throne room – both easily enough had. The next of which will be someone that knew what Delilah had in mind so I don't mistake what the woman's intentions were. There was a coven of witches that helped her design the ritual, but only one wise enough to escape while letting Delilah believe her murdered with the rest. Last I had considered her before this unfortunate exile she had fled to the north and was living in Driscol up the coast."

"Okay…" I could tell she was torn. She had a lot of work to do in Dunwall after all to fix everything that had happened – not to mention the cities of Serkonos. Still, she hesitated because she'd just promised me she would help me. Her good nature was going to be her undoing one of these days, promises she could never truly keep in full. "What else will you need?"

"Someone that suffered at Delilah's magic, hers was augmented slightly to my own after her theft. However, we have Corvo for that. The rest of the materials I should be able to gather well enough on my own without being seen. I know the places in Dunwall to look, though I cannot travel as far as Driscol without help. If I have trouble finding something I can tell you but largely I will need an escort." He answered. It was straightforward enough – he knew what he needed after all…

"That's it? A trip to Driscol?" She asked curiously.

"Assuming she's still there." I answered honestly. "She may have grown nervous and gone further."

"What is this woman's name?" It seemed that with these questions Emily planned to help me even if it was inconvenient for her. Was she hoping for something out of it? I suppose I would owe her for the favors…but then, she already had my mark so there was little else to give.

"Bethany Craftshaw, she works often as a tailor in the cities where she finds havens for herself." I explained, she couldn't exactly advertise being a witch after all. "I take that to mean you plan to go with me then?"

"I don't seem to have much choice…but I can't yet. I need at least another few days, if not a week, here in Dunwall. You said you needed to gather materials so I'd think that's reasonable enough. I could always make a cover that I'm traveling to see the state of affairs after Delilah's destructive rampage." Emily stated, reasonably enough. She had a fair point, and while I wanted to track down the most elusive of my needed 'components' immediately I could hardly argue with her. I nodded at that, it was a compromise I could make.

"It seems we've reached an agreement then. I will visit you again tomorrow to see how plans are progressing." I accepted her terms, nodding to her and walking back toward the window.

"You don't have to stay outside." She stated in confusion at my movement. "I can arrange a room here for you. Discreetly of course, I do have a secret vault that was recently vacated by its last resident."

I paused to look at her, a bit surprised by her offer. Then again, what danger was I to the castle treasury? I nodded slowly, it was likely more comfortable than the outdoors. This was going to be a strange living arrangement…but that could be said for me being in the solid world at all. I took the new 'room' without complaint and with the need for sleep in one of many 'firsts for a long time' I was unconscious before much time had passed. Even my distracted thoughts couldn't banish the darkness of that required oblivion for long…

 **End Chapter**

Wow this chapter took off from me and ended up really long. I couldn't find a good place to pause it. I wasn't even sure I should have paused it there but I needed to cut off somewhere…

 _-Aura_

To my reviewers:

 _tigerfur_ \- There are a couple fics with this pair, but I wanted to put my own spin on it. Thank you for the compliment, I hope you continue to enjoy my story.


	3. Sensation

**Chapter Three:** **_Sensation_**

 _"Sensation, experience…what more to seek out than those things that offer some sort of primal memory – what more do you have than your mind as time ekes by? Memories come to be worth far more than coins when one is on the deathbed – they are the currency of the aged."_

 _The Outsider –_

The world was louder than when I observed it from the void. While I knew the general expectations of the senses, I didn't experience them on the same level as I did now that I was as close to mortal as I could ever expect. I had spent much of the morning gathering rare supplies from areas of the city and I was close to the last but it was within a building still condemned with blood flies and their surrogate protectors of humans turned slave. The building was bound to be disorienting so I was taking a break in an abandoned apartment not far from the site.

I'd stolen some meat and bread along with a container of water…I'd return the container later with a few coins I'd found. The family probably needed it more than I would. I was sitting on a ledge that to anyone else would appear precarious at best but I knew it could hold. Now that I'd taken a break in my wandering I had turned to observing the street below. The people peddling legal goods or trying to smuggle illegal ones past the guards, the workers around them cutting fish or cleaning the streets. Above the busy road, a woman was putting one of her children to bed, the boy had only a cold but the mother fretted over memories of the rat plague. I smiled a bit at the boy when he saw me and stared, winking to him just before he nodded off to sleep.

He would get better rest than I had. Not that there had been nightmares or disturbances in the vault where Emily had dropped me off. There had been nothing. That alone was enough to disturb me more than the visions would. This mortal guise was one I'd lost for so long that growing accustomed to it was far from something I wanted. I needed no sleep in the void, what sort of god needs to rest? And that thought was far from comforting, for if I was no longer a god, and no longer a mortal…then what had I become? What had this wayward ritual forged me into until I retrieved the void, until the very thing most humans feared called me home?

But it wasn't home…not originally…

Whatever I had become, I had been born mortal. I was younger, so much younger, in those days before the shadows started to eat away or blend what was nightmare and what had been my life. I remembered little anymore of my time before the sacrifice, as though my very history had been forfeit with my blood to forge this pact that made me what the mortals called the Outsider. To what was I the Outsider of now? I sighed at the circular motion of my thoughts and shook my head, taking another bite of the dry bread and meat…it wasn't heavenly but it would sustain me while I was stuck in this form. I smirked a bit as the window curtain was pulled over my view of the sick boy and instead watched as a older woman tried to get through one of the checkpoints. She wouldn't make it, she was carrying illegal poison on her cart – the guards would find it and she would join many of the bodies dumped into the sewers. Given her intent of murdering the man that had married her daughter…and that she wasn't a good mother in the first place, I wasn't about to get involved.

If I watched someone or something I could still see them in the stream of time, see what was the truth of them, past and future. It was only minutely clear however, only if I focused on them. I finished my meal, washing it down with the stale water I'd acquired before gathering my bag full of supplies and standing on the ledge, considering the next building I would need to look through. The only easily accessible area was on the third floor but that was easy enough for me. I was there a moment later, gesturing at a gathering of the blood flies that began buzzing wildly and glowing at my sudden and nearby appearance to the large hive.

With a small gesture a wind cut through them so harshly that it burst holes through the hive and the wall behind them, cutting as deeply as any bullet could at my command. I lacked the sort of equipment that Emily or Corvo would have carried, but I didn't have a need for it. In only a few moments the room closest to my entry was clear of any threat. It was however, as expected, disorienting. The coppery tinge of blood mingled with the dust and decay caused by years of neglect, a thousand stories flitting through my mind as I used the magic to clear out this small part of the infestation. My hand caught the rail, I doubted a 30-foot drop would kill me but I'd rather not actively try and find out how much it would hurt.

After a moment, the dizziness faded and I stepped into the mostly destroyed room, there were two doors but one was covered in the remains of a large chunk of the hive so I doubted I'd find much there. The other was shut, and a hallway lead to stairs down as well as another open archway and further blood flies. It wasn't particularly difficult even if I had to take a break between clearing areas. This apartment complex was once nice, it reminded me a little of the same architecture used in the palace quarters, and slipping into a bedroom I cleaned it out with the same summoned winds before leaning on the frame, closing my black eyes as I saw the dots of darkness in front of them.

I'd seen Emily that morning in a bedroom similar, it wasn't covered in blood flies, but out of time the two rooms would have matched up well. She'd still been sleeping when I'd slipped out and I didn't wish to wake her when doing so would mean little to my plans. For as frustrated as I was that Emily had failed to simply kill Delilah I felt the girl had earned her rest. Other mortals wouldn't view the oblivion of sleep with the same trepidation I did. I glanced through the room, but this didn't have what I wanted either. I wondered where the woman had kept the herb I needed, it was a rare thing but it would have flourished with the blood flies around so getting it now would be easy once I figured out what room it had ended up in before the pests had taken over. Moving on I paused to purse my lips in amusement at a bit of graffiti in one of the halls. It read clearly: 'The Outsider Walks Among Us.' I smirked a bit at the irony of the statement. Apparently, I wasn't the only one that could predict the future...

 _Emily –_

Where the hell did everybody go?

I had requested a large breakfast since I figured I could offer something to the outsider after I was finished with father. He often came in the morning and we used the meal to discuss plans for the day and what we needed to do for the city. His visits had helped me keep a grasp of the city, even though then I'd pushed off more on him and the advisors than I ever should have. I still wished for council now, I had so much I needed to do before I could take any sort of trip and I had been hoping he would help me figure out what to do first.

However, instead I spent the meal eating alone, writing up a list of things that needed doing and running low enough on paper that I had to send for more. I did give father's plate to the servants, they looked hungry and while it wasn't the usual etiquette I could tell they appreciated the gesture. Everyone was probably hungry after Delilah and the blood flies ravaged the area and few ships seemed to want to import. Convincing people to start importing ships again and writing letters to that effect would be one of my first orders of business, without food none of Dunwall would survive – citizen or politician alike.

Despite my misgivings, I had rested well through the night. I was too exhausted for the concerns to seep in and cause me to be overly restless. That was, until I woke and all the things facing me came to bare. There was so much I had to do, so many people counting on me to set things right and fix all of the problems that Delilah had caused – to fix problems that were there that I either ignored or was ignorant of before she started all of this. Then there was my other issue…

Something I addressed as I looked at the third plate of food I'd gotten. I'd spent the time to eat myself and get clean and dressed. I expect it looked strange to order three plates of food and not eat two of them but no one had said anything about it. I had planned to give the third plate to the Outsider unsure if he even ate or needed to. I expected to find out that morning, but when I entered my vault he was gone. He and father both had seemingly vanished and that was only making my morning all the more stressful?

Had father figured out the outsider was here? He had always been quick and protective of me, perhaps he'd heard us speaking yesterday evening? I had gone to my room instead of staying after dinner which wasn't what I would normally do. If father had figured out the Outsider was here, then what? Did they decide to just go the two of them to finish this task of getting the woman the Outsider needed?

This all seemed too surreal to be happening. What had I done exactly to render the Outsider with the need for help from us humans at all? It couldn't be good, and it was one more thing I had to fix as soon as possible. Not that I could now…and if what I was worried about was true then perhaps they planned not to let me help at all.

 _"Just one step at a time…"_ I could hear the advice in father's voice, even in my mind. I forced myself to calm down so I wouldn't get overwhelmed by it all. I couldn't do anything if I got so stressed I couldn't focus on my letter writing. We needed to reassure the ships that our ports were safe again, at least as safe as any port ever was. Besides, fears that I would be excluded were far from warranted, the Outsider specifically stated that I was needed if he was to reverse whatever had gone wrong.

I managed to get through one whole letter before I continued to consider the Outsider. If it wasn't for his eyes he could be taken for human easily enough. Perhaps I could get Sokolov to craft him some sort of lenses? Out of the void the Outsider didn't have power floating about him in visible shadows so he would be passably human if his eyes looked normal. He was handsome enough as well, chiseled features, dark hair, a sense of confidence and refinement. It was little wonder that in the stories some people spoke of becoming obsessed with him. There was an energy around him even lacking a visual clue that spoke on a spiritual level to him being something more. Still, it wasn't enough that anyone would simply guess his true nature.

Now that I was only making copies of the same thing I had gotten through a few more letters but I was still trying to decide on what role then I should have him play? There would be no easy way to have him travel with us without some sort of story to go along with it. A new advisor? One that helped save the crown? The best lies are steeped in the truth…that's what Calista used to tell me as a child…it was advice I should have paid better attention to. I missed her still at times, my childhood tutor…she'd moved with her uncle to one of the outlying cities, and I couldn't blame her…Dunwall was turning out to be a deathtrap…

Then again, Dunwall had pulled together the castle in a faster time than I thought possible. There were large areas that still needed to be cleaned but even the city was quickly fixing itself now that the witches had been either killed or frightened into quiet at Delilah's disappearance. It made me want to do well by my citizens more – they were a tough, resilient group that survived. They survived the plague, the blood flies, and now the tyranny of Delilah's madness. They deserved better than what I had been for them before now, I had to admit while part of me still hated Delilah for what she had done, I couldn't totally resent her for it. She'd also shown me things I would have never seen otherwise.

I leaned back, a dozen letters to the closest ships still waiting out of port with the freshest possible goods…it was a good immediate solution and the scribes could work on getting word out to the other cities.

Delilah and the Outsider…what more was happening there. She'd stolen a piece of a god and somehow survived. Despite my own hesitation to resent the girl I doubted the Outsider was feeling as generous. He'd complimented her before, but no such words had come from him since he'd been stuck here with us mortals. I guess it was harder to appreciate Delilah being clever and cutthroat when yours was the throat being cut.

Where had they disappeared to? Father and the Outsider, it was nearly noon and I seemed unable to do much more than write letters in their absence. I took a break to glance at the sky. It looked a lot different here than in the void…but it was still probably the closest thing to the open area he called home. Were the pair of them watching it somewhere as well? No, probably not, they were more useful than I was, they were probably getting something worthwhile done while I worried over them. With a sigh I returned to penning, it was what the city needed and all my distractions would not help anyone, I had to trust both father and the Outsider would return before the day was out.

 _The Outsider –_

There, I'd finally found it, it was of course in one of the last rooms I'd taken time to clear but it would still do what I needed it to. All that was left was to travel and get the final ingredient. It had been a long day but a worthwhile one, I'd finished what likely would have taken the others many days or weeks to finish and certainly with less injury than humans would have in a place like this. I was resting against another door frame when I felt the thin metal press against my neck.

A memory of another time, a less pleasant time, flickered through my thoughts, and before I'd opened my eyes the offender that would put a blade to my throat was flying across the apartment, likely would have gone through the wall had it not been a major support for the entire structure. I relaxed a moment later, closing my eyes again and ready to get outside once I'd had a moment to rest. Too much here was still overwhelming my senses. I sighed as the man I'd tossed started to move.

I admit, the man's attempt to intimidate me was amusing, he never ceased to be entertaining. "I expect you would know better, Corvo Attano."

 **End Chapter**

Been busy with the holidays coming up but wanted to get another chapter up. I really like the idea of this pairing a lot but they're a bit hard to work with. Emily is funny, sort of chastising herself for even considering the Outsider XD.

 _-Aura_

To my reviewers:

 _Tigerfur_ – thanks again for the review. I'm glad you like the changes in POV, I don't write first person often so I always worry I'm not doing well.


	4. Honestly

**Chapter Four:** _Honesty_

 _"Truth is a rather relative concept, is it not? It is easy to speak the truth while being completely deceitful or to tell a complete lie by weaving small truths together skillfully. What then is a truth or a lie if not fluid, both are open to interpretation."_

 _The Outsider –_

"You are brave, even after Delilah took your mark here you are, eternally the Royal Protector." I commented, opening one eye enough to take in the shocked look he was giving me. In truth, he'd rarely worn such a surprised face, twice that I could recall. As I watched him I realized he hadn't known it was me. He'd come after me after only having seen a shadow leaving the palace…he'd thought me to be working for Daud and not gotten close enough to recognize me until now. Amusing thought that I would be attacked in Daud's name, the assassin would probably laugh if he knew. Then, Corvo couldn't be blamed for not knowing who I was. "Let me get out of here, and we can speak. It is just as well that you know what is happening. I expect you would need to be informed eventually."

"Outsider…" His voice was as confused as his expression but he folded his blade and walked after me as I headed up and back to a nearby rooftop, glad for the salty air compared to the bloody remnants of the fly's nest. "H…why are you here?"

"An unexpected event, surprising I know, considering." I stated, still entertained by the consternation across every line in Corvo's face. So many of those wrinkles caused by his noble appointment, his years protecting the crown. "Delilah's involvement, and Emily's defeat of the woman, has left me temporary stranded in this body. Given Emily is helping me to fix the issue, I planned to come forward soon – though at least your greeting was intriguing for a man so hesitant to cut throats."

"The trip…that's you." Corvo added it all together at lightning speed. No one could say the man wasn't capable at his job. I nodded in response, still trying to clear my lungs and nostrils of the stench from the building.

"Yes." I eventually spoke the confirmation aloud. "I have spent the better part of the day gathering other materials required. Have you been following me everywhere?"

"I lost track for a while." Corvo admitted, still looking quite confused at the conversation he was having. "Then I got wind that someone was clearing out the infested building and came here on a hunch. Are you alright? When I came up you weren't exactly on your best game."

I managed to keep the frown off my face though I wanted to scowl at the observation. If I was so weak now compared to my usual form that a mortal could sneak up on me, then that wasn't good. Even one with my mark. Certainly there were others with it that wouldn't mind removing me from the game board. Daud made another striking example, he was still quite bitter with me after the last task I'd assigned him. The blade hadn't cut my skin, it had only pressed against the surface…and there had been enough pressure to draw red for a normal mortal. I suppose that answered the question as to if I could be harmed easily.

"I am well enough to have defended myself." I pointed out after contemplating various answers.

"Good, then get whatever you need, get it without Emily." Corvo returned to his usual mentality now that the initial shock was wearing off. I had to admit I wasn't certain how he could remain interesting while always singing the same song. Still, I expected some resistance when it came to the Royal Protector.

"Emily has already agreed to aid the cause, and you'll be needed as well. It cannot be other people, the last participate we require is why we're taking the trip. Unless you would rather leave Delilah unchecked with all the possible power of the void." I remarked.

He scoffed, scowling at me as if trying to measure if I was lying to him. Eventually he let out a resigned sigh. "I am really starting to hate you Outsider. What is it you want me to do?"

"Glad you've come around…I'll bring you up to speed…"

 _Emily –_

"I'm not certain a trip like that is wise now, some of the citizens may feel you are abandoning the repair efforts." Caldoun, one of the advisors that had been loyal to me but wise enough to go into hiding after my temporary disposal, and therefore survived to be here now, pointed out. "I understand your reasoning as well, but I'm not certain the citizens will. Do you believe you'll be able to keep them content? There are many with problems coming to the castle every day and you barely have time to hold audiences now. You can't hold audience if they aren't here."

"Corvo Attano can hold the court in my stead until I return, with the council's advice of course." I replied. I couldn't explain what my full plan was, or that I needed to go to the north to acquire a person for the use of the Outsider to return him to the void. That explanation would go over far less well than a quick tour of my islands to reinstate myself with my people. "After all the unrest, it would be better if my various cities peoples could see me, not just Dunwall's. I've hidden away at the tower for too long, which is what allowed the Duke to take me on with Delilah in the first place."

"It is a fair observation but I think more than a few days in the capital is important your highness." Caldoun pressed, clearly feeling strongly but keeping himself level headed despite that. I could understand his confusion with my rush, it isn't as though he knew how much was at stake for me taking this trip. Nor could I tell him exactly. "I know and understand your concerns but the rest of the nation deserves my time and presence as well, Dunwall wasn't the only one that suffered under Delilah's rule. Taking a trip through the whole of my territory will be good, you didn't see what happened in Karnaca."

"Yes…I suppose that's true." He wavered at the idea that things could be even worse somewhere else. Caldoun had been one of the people let in to see the destroyed state of the palace and he'd been hiding here in Dunwall as it all unraveled. It was probably hard to consider that other areas had been hit even more than Dunwall had but now that I'd planted the idea his imagination was taking root with it. "I don't like the idea but if things were really that bad then I suppose you are right, that everyone in our nation needs you now more than ever. But still, not sending word that you will be on your way? That seems insecure, at least discuss it with the Royal Protector. Where is Corvo?"

"I will and he is doing something for me in the city." I answered. At least, I hoped he was since I had been forced into this small meeting even though I was not yet comfortable making such decisions all alone. I wish I knew where father had gotten off to.

"What are you going to do traveling without the Royal Protector?" Caldoun seemed ready and able to channel Corvo even without father here. "There was already one attempt at stealing your crown, without a proper set of guards can you expect to ward off others? Even if you were popular right now, you couldn't just go without a guard."

"Yes, I know. I have a new person I am considering as a second Royal Protector when Corvo is unable to be present. He helped me retake the throne." I replied. Another half-truth, it wasn't as though the Outsider was really a direct aid but indirectly he'd given me the edge that let me accomplish everything. I couldn't let the cost of my returning to the throne be at his expense after all that. I was glad I was at least starting to win over someone, even if Caldoun was a supporter it was better than nothing. "I want you to continue advising Corvo, I know he can be a little serious but he needs someone who can deal with the noble families easier than he can with his personality."

"I'd be happy to help your majesty." The man seemed surprised by my request but pleased, not that he would be likely to refuse even if he wasn't. "Have you considered any official appointments? There are a lot of people missing or possibly dead, we are still compiling a list of what seats are still filled or if the holders were Delilah sympathizers."

"Good, I'll want that finished before any set decisions are made. I want to make sure there is at least a working general council before I leave on my trip." I reassured, which also seemed to relax the man further. I was putting a lot of responsibility on him, and I didn't know him extremely well but since he'd headed the effort to retrieve me when he had no real title left I felt I owed him a gesture of good faith in return. "I expect you'll be an invaluable advisor for political matters where Corvo isn't already versed."

"I am a fast learner." Father's voice brought a smile to my face. There was always a feeling of security that accompanied knowing he was nearby even if his presence alone couldn't always make me safe. "What are you two in here concocting? Councilman Caldoun, a pleasure to see you back at court."

"A pleasure that there is a court to come back to." Caldoun replied smoothly enough, smiling at Corvo. "This won't be the easiest assignment but I'll certainly do my best. Has the Empress told you what her plans are?"

"I don't want to sit on the throne but Emily is right." Corvo stated, sounding as though he was chewing glass at the observation. His expression told me that we would be speaking in private very soon, I managed to keep my face neutral but I had expected more of a fight from him. Perhaps it was still coming even though he'd just publicly admitted he'd be staying here in my stead. "The realm at large needs to see their Empress as more than a picture on posters or banners. They need that promise that all of this is going to turn around."

"Well, I can't argue with both of you. I had expected you to be on my side in this Corvo." Caldoun stated, it was good natured, but it was clear he was just as surprised by how easily father had gone along. "You must approve the new Royal Protector then? Or the second one? I'm not certain how it works. Where did you find him Empress?"

"He was in the outskirts and helped me get out of the city when Delilah took over." I hadn't come up with any sort of cover story yet but I supposed it was just as well to build on the partial truths, less to remember later.

"Speaking of, I will need to steal the Empress away for a few minutes. Councilman, I would like to meet and discuss plans for the city and how to deal with rebuilding and other issues. Would you mind waiting in the lounge? I'll have dinner brought to us." Corvo requested, effectively signaling an end to the meeting at hand.

"Of course, I will head there and wait for you." Caldoun didn't pursuit whatever I and father needed to speak about for the moment. He offered a bow to me, a nod to father and left out of the roo. Corvo meanwhile turned back to me, his expression still stating we needed to speak.

"Let's go to your room, you can tell me the plan. I'm none too pleased at you leaving me here, away from you." He remarked lowly, so he wouldn't be overheard if Caldoun wasn't walking quickly on the way out. I nodded and walked with him quietly as my escort until we reached my quarters and shut the door.

"I know you aren't happy but I need someone here I trust." I immediately stated when the door clicked, the audible signal we were alone now. "Besides, I'll be safe."

"I am not as certain about that." Corvo answered, sighing and rubbing his hand over his face. He looked so tired, and I couldn't blame him. He was always getting me out of some sort of trouble. "I know you can handle yourself, but I don't trust the Outsider. He is who you meant as a second protector yes?"

"You know then…" I said with a bit of surprise. I knew that Corvo might have deciphered the Outsider's presence but he just came forward. "I know it's not preferable, but I can't just leave him."

"I…we had a long talk this afternoon. He caught me up on his side of the story." Corvo replied, his face relaxing a little before continuing. "I think you made the right call. It doesn't have to be the desirable move for it to be the strategic one. We can't just leave something like him being here unattended when we don't know what could happen from it, more or less what Delilah could do if left unchecked in the void. However, he doesn't tend to get heavily involved, just keep that in mind. He may not go for this ploy of yours where he's your new protector, what will you do then?"

"Well he has to," I stated shortly. "He's here and he needs us to get back, so everyone has to make some sacrifices. Compromise if how working in a group happens."

"All right, but how exactly will he blend in. His eyes give him away." Corvo asked.

"Yes, I know. I sent for Sokolov, he should be arriving by this evening. I hope he'll be able to build the Outsider some lenses that could cover up the eyes." I explained, then smiled at father's thoughtful nod. For as strict as he could be, he gave credit when he felt it was due, his lack of immediate further argument was a good sign. If anyone could do this in the time we needed it was Sokolov.

"You'll need to ask the Outsider but I don't think it'll be a problem, he wants to keep the word of his presence limited here. He was careful enough out in town today." Corvo mentioned. So now I knew that Corvo had seen something around my room, ever the protector…not that I didn't appreciate it. "He is done with his gathering and said he would be working on things he needs for the reversal spell. It is all above my head but I expect he's in the vault again, it was a wise move putting him there. No one will just stumble into him. I don't know how he gets in and out without the key but he'd never worked on our level. Just be careful, no one knows what the Outsider's real game is but the Outsider."

"Understood." I agreed. Certainly, I couldn't claim to know the mind of what was basically a god, and father didn't either. "You…you've known him a while."

I had always known father had something extra, that there was more to his unique set of skills than just practice. Still, despite stories and rumors about his worshiping the Outsider, until recently that part of his life was something alien to me, and now that I understood it I felt a bit sad that he hadn't talked to me about it before now. I remembered the mark that had been on father's hand, before Delilah had taken it away…

"Yes…I hate to say it but we both owe him more than I'd like." Corvo admitted with that same 'chewing glass' tone he'd used earlier. "I don't want to let you leave without me, but I can't argue it if the Outsider agrees to this scheme of yours for him to act as your protector. Whatever he is, I've never seen him as a liar, so if he says he'll keep you safe there are no better hands - second to mine. That being said, he does omit often enough to still be questioned."

"I get it. I do." I confirmed, happy that father was still worried about my well-being even with a god at my back. "I will be careful. I promise."

"That's all I ask…but I should go. There is a lot to do and I'll need to speak a lot with Caldoun at length and it is close enough to dinner that we can get started. I need to find some whiskey for that." Corvo stated. I had to admit that I was glad he was here, I don't know what I would have done without my father looking out for me. He was the one person I could trust in this whole mess. I let him leave with a mental note that we needed to have a long conversation about his involvement with the Outsider one of these days. Then I ordered up food with the servants…they didn't ask when I requested two plates. My day was so full and I still hadn't figured out if the Outsider even ate…

 **End Chapter**

Another chapter that ended up longer than first intended. I was quite tired when I worked through this and while I did go over it again, I hope it's alright. Next chapter some more Outsider/Emily interaction, woot! Also, Happy Holidays to everyone! I meant to get this up yesterday but Christmas had me super busy! Anyway, I'll try to get up another chapter by or a bit after New Years!

- _Aura_

To my reviewers:

 _Sparda4_ – Emily still has her powers. The opening of this chapter actually addressed where Corvo's powers were XD. As to the future, that remains to be seen, I only have a general plan and I'm fleshing it out as I go.

 _Tigerfur_ – Whoops. I'll have to assume maybe some came in on a boat? We'll leave this as the last mention of them further north ^^;;;


	5. Mesmerize

**Chapter Five:** _**Mesmerize**_

 _"We're all attracted to the things that interest us, the aspects of the world that our hearts long for. We want to see ourselves in others, to be challenged, to be appreciated for who we are. We want to mesmerize others and be mesmerized in return."_

 _Emily –_

I hated to admit that he was handsome, but it wasn't something I could just stop seeing. His dark hair was slightly unkempt in a way, but still just taken care of enough to be attractive, roguish. His eyes were focused on the various herbs and other materials gathered around the work station he was making use of. He leaned over it even though I know he must have heard me open the door, I paused at the other end of the room, watching him. He'd taken off the jacket he always wore and the sleeves of his shirt were rolled up to not interfere with his crafting. It was the most disheveled I'd seen him but somehow that added to the attraction. Then after he'd finished adding some powder to whatever he was mixing he glanced up at me. I was immediately reminded of how he wasn't human even if he looked like one when he worked, when his eyes were downcast.

His eyes had always hypnotized me, even in the void it was difficult not to grow distracted by them, but that quality was stronger in the real world. I was lost so easily in his gaze, it made me wonder if the whole of space wasn't trapped in that darkness. Before the moment extended to the point of awkward I forced myself back to reality, hoping that the heat in my face wasn't visible as I spoke. "I had dinner brought up, I don't know if you are hungry. I don't know if you eat actually, but it's here if you want it."

Then again, even speaking I hadn't glanced away, I was trapped in that dark gaze…but I wasn't afraid, not as I had been during our first few meetings in visions of the void. When I didn't know if it was a nightmare or dream, if he was friend or foe. I still didn't know which he was…or if he had even decided himself. I did know that if he was going to harm me, he would have already done so. So with those trepidations gone it was too easy to fixate on that limitless gaze. I'd always been curious and there was an eternity of knowledge in this creature, past and future…how couldn't I be swept away by his very design? I didn't realize that I was still staring until I needed to blink, my eyes having grown a bit dry as I watched him…my mouth wasn't far behind…I was glad they'd brought wine up with the meal. I think I agreed with father on needing something more than water for my company tonight.

He smiled ever-so-slightly at my drawn-out attention. I supposed it was only natural that he would notice it, didn't he notice everything? That thought only aided my nervousness and I wasn't sure what to say to him. Thankfully he broke the silence for me, nodding lightly as he spoke. "Thank you for considering me Empress, now that you mention it a meal would be wise. I will be there in a moment."

I nodded, a bit relieved when he looked back to his work since despite all my inner dialogue I had still been staring. I headed back out of the vault, hesitating a moment near the door before deciding to lock it again. He didn't need the door to get out after all and it was better to be secure. Then I sighed to myself, closing my eyes a moment then shaking my head as the view I just had of him came immediately to mind. I had to compose myself better. I rubbed over my face with my hands and walked to the table to pour the wine, pausing a moment then pouring him a glass as well – if he didn't drink it then I would. I tried to shake the electric feeling that seemed to have seeped into my skin.

 _Was I getting a crush on a god?_

That couldn't be healthy. I'd heard rumors about ole Granny Rags, that she'd gone mad in her obsession with the Outsider…I'd always assumed it was nothing more than a story to teach a lesson, until now. I was living the danger. Certainly, I'd thought the Outsider handsome in the void, but that had been an impossibility, never something worth considering deeply…but now he was in the real world. I tried to dismiss the concept, it was absurd. I was the Empress of Dunwall and he was the god-creature of the Void. I was only helping him return to his rightful home, it was nothing more than folly to entertain something further than that.

"How are preparations proceeding?" He asked suddenly, from the opposite chair. I jumped, dropping the wine bottle, but he caught it…or I assume he did since it was on the table a moment later, faster than I could follow. "I apologize, I should have warned you somehow. I didn't mean to spook you."

"It's fine." I assured, though I felt far from it. For all my training and preparations there was no guide on how to interact with the Outsider. "Slowly but I am trying to move toward leaving in a few days if everything is at least patched together enough to work in my absence. I'm glad you joined me though as I needed to ask you a few things. As I need Corvo here to make sure the capital runs in my absence, I need a new royal protector."

"I'm not certain it is wise to bring on someone new in such an unstable period." The Outsider remarked, then smirked a bit, seeming to realize before I could ask him what I wanted. "You want me to take on the role."

Did he know other things I was thinking about? I sipped my wine generously at the idea he could read my thoughts. I couldn't stop speaking though, I had to press forward…he was probably used to this happening if the rumors were true. Even if he sensed my fancy he was being merciful enough not to speak of it.

"I know, it seems silly but I need a reason for you to be on the ship too and it gives justification for you to be around me in close proximity at all times. I also called in Sokolov because I think he can make lenses to cover up your eyes and then you'll be passably human." I rushed to explain, a little afraid he would refuse my plan and I'd have to come up with something else after father's earlier skeptic reaction. "I know you want knowledge of your presence kept to a minimum but I think that he is trustworthy and he is the best man for the job. Besides, I also know what it is like to get kicked out of your home and while I don't want to make mistakes I want to try and hu..."

I let my statement drift off as the Outsider reached over to touch my arm, pausing my small rant about what I wanted to do. "…rry."

I felt a little reassured that his expression was calm, as usual. There was an easy confidence to his voice that helped slow and quicken my heartbeat at all once. My chest was almost as confused as the rest of me as to what was happening. "I accept Empress. I would still like to keep my presence as hidden as possible but it is an acceptable compromise given what I am asking you to do. Time is of the essence and this seems the most expeditious route."

"Good…" I nodded, glancing outside toward the city. I needed to look somewhere else, to be distracted. What had come over me? I was acting like a foolish teenager, I had a country to concern myself with. I had to admit that I did agree with him that time was important, the sooner the Outsider was back in the void the less I would be tempted to consider these impossible ideas. "…it'll be better for everyone the sooner you are returned."

"I will do everything in my power not to harm your country while I am here, you have my word." He promised and I knew he'd hold to it. As Corvo had pointed out, the Outsider for whatever he was, wasn't a liar.

I nodded again, picking up my fork to start eating, not trusting myself to say too much. Instead I switched back to the topic at hand. "I hope we can leave in a couple more days. You don't mind Sokolov giving you something to cover your eyes? Assuming he can make it, he'll have to see you."

"Sokolov has been hoping for a glimpse of me for years, this will be his only chance. It will be interesting to see how humans react when I look like they do." The Outsider stated thoughtfully, he'd picked up silverware and was eating with me slowly, seeming to test every small piece and consider it before moving to the next. It was such a strange concept, sharing a meal with him when he'd been such an esoteric force until yesterday. I liked it, the ability to just sit and enjoy something simple with someone else. When was the last time I enjoyed a one on one meal with anyone other than father? Not since Calista probably…

 _The Outsider –_

It had taken a fair chunk of the afternoon explaining to Corvo my involvement with Emily. The protector had been both frustrated and grateful for the mark I'd place on her. I knew he was glad that she was safer as a result of my power but he also recalled that my magic didn't come free, that I could draw those with my power into the void as I wished to. I think it frustrated him most that there was now a part of her life he wasn't privy to. She was his daughter after all, and there were few fathers more watchful than Corvo Attano. Still, eventually I finished the story and he agreed, as I expected, that returning me to the void was the wisest course of action. I left him then, and returned to Emily's vault.

The ritual design was precise. I had not crafted something so complex since the glass or the heart, but this ritual would be more than either of those had been. Difficult since I couldn't draw as easily from the void's energy, and I would have to pierce back into the void itself. I had to have all my measurements exactly, another mistake as in the Delilah issue would be costly. I got caught up in the work, so much so that it wasn't until I heard the door opening that I realized how much time had passed. I didn't look up at first, not until I had the proper measurements and was mixing them together did I glance up to the Empress, standing in the higher section of the room watching me work. Was it strange for her, seeing me do such seemly mundane things in her world? I guess it would have to be.

"I had dinner brought up, I don't know if you are hungry. I don't know if you eat actually, but it's here if you want it." She stated, her voice wavering a moment at the start of her comment. Her face was flushed slightly as well, was she growing ill? No, that wasn't it. My presence here was still not fully mortal, not really – the void was still in my eyes and she was captivated by it. It was clearer here perhaps than in the other realm, the show that I was still connected to my home. I appreciated it, but it was also slightly amusing how distracted she let herself become, a far cry from her nervousness in previous encounters. I smiled lightly at her, "Thank you for considering me Empress, now that you mention it a meal would be wise. I will be there in a moment."

I returned to my work, and could hear the door closing a moment later…more a sign that my eyes were the source of her intense interest. I couldn't read those with my Mark easily, it was harder to see where they were going or had been without more focus. Even in the void I often chose to watch as opposed to influence them more than I already had. I occasionally spoke with them of course but it was more interesting not to know and see where they ended up by their choices compared to the rest of the masses whose futures were laid out. Emily was one of the few individuals whose fate wasn't decided, and who could influence the fates of others through her choices and actions. Most I chose to share power with were similarly fascinating.

I finished putting together another piece of the material, a break for the meal came at a good time as I had to leave it to set for several hours. I put my sleeves down and put my jacket back on, glancing in a mirror to make certain I was presentable before appearing opposite Emily at the table.

"How are preparations proceeding?" I asked. She jumped, dropping the wine she was pouring but I caught the bottle, setting it down without a spill. "I apologize, I should have warned you somehow. I didn't mean to spook you."

"It's fine." She assured instantly, too quickly to be true. She pressed immediately into further conversation before I could or could not comment however. "Slowly but I am trying to move toward leaving in a few days if everything is at least patched together enough to work in my absence. I'm glad you joined me though as I needed to ask you a few things. As I need Corvo here to make sure the capital runs in my absence, I need a new royal protector."

"I'm not certain it is wise to bring on someone new in such an unstable period." I started, before considering what she was doing. Her nervousness, the unusual aspect of her voice and expressions. She didn't mean someone else. "You want me to take on the role."

It was an entertaining thought, and I expected Corvo would be both happy and not to have someone so potent to look after his daughter. Neither of them knew just how long I'd been looking out for Emily's interests. I'd taken in Corvo, in part, because he would protect Emily. I'd gotten Daud to interfere with Delilah's first plot to puppet her as a girl. Then finally I offered power to Emily herself to save her from the fate her aunt had in mind. I'd been safeguarding her for years, it seemed pointless to refuse to do so now.

"I know, it seems silly but I need a reason for you to be on the ship too and it gives justification for you to be around me, near at all times. I also called in Sokolov because I think he can make lenses to cover up your eyes and then you'll be passably human." She explained swiftly as I considered her offer. She really was behind this idea of hers. "I know you want knowledge of your presence kept to a minimum but I think that he is trustworthy and he is the best man for the job. Besides, I also know what it is like to get kicked out of your home and while I don't want to make mistakes I want to try and hu..."

I appreciated her sentiment, and that she was taking the time to aid me with such vigor to her plans, she'd already done more than I expected in a short time. She was so agitated however, perhaps because she thought I would refuse. I reached out toward the end of her rant to settle my hand on her arm. The cloth she wore was softer now, the finery expected of someone of her station, not the coarse cloth she'd had when she was out in Karnaca. There was a warmth to her below the layer of fabric, and I offered a light smile, hoping to reassure her as she finished her statement only after a long pause when I reached out. "…rry."

"I accept Empress. I would still like to keep my presence as hidden as possible but it is an acceptable compromise given what I am asking you to do. Time is of the essence and this seems the most expeditious route." I spoke in agreement to her plan, taking my hand back to instead retrieve my silverware. I hadn't used it in a while but it wasn't exactly difficult. Besides, the food here smelled much better than the stale bread and cheese I'd had earlier.

"Good…" She nodded at my acceptance, glancing out the window. I wasn't certain what worries were on her mind but given the way she stared at her city I could guess. "…it'll be better for everyone the sooner you are returned."

How quickly a few months had turned her around. She'd gone from often viewing her throne as a nuisance to instead desiring actively to do what she could for her country. I understood her concerns, I was a problem to her being able to freely move forward after all. A possible threat to her people. I thought it best to let her know that was not my intent. "I will do everything in my power not to harm your country while I am here, you have my word."

"I hope we can leave in a couple more days. You don't mind Sokolov giving you something to cover your eyes? Assuming he can make it, he'll have to see you." She seemed to recover at my remarks, growing more serious as she lifted her own utensils to eat. I was trying a bit of some sort of sauce, I had to admit that food had come far from what I recalled. Humans were very forward thinking in their work with culinary design, spices alone helped bring them forward in that genre.

"Sokolov has been hoping for a glimpse of me for years, this will be his only chance. It will be interesting to see how humans react when I look like they do." I replied to her question, picking up a bit of something else to try it. I didn't want to do too much at once, as I had with the building earlier. I didn't know if too many sensations would disorient me, at least she seemed content to just eat quietly as well with our conversation drawing to a still. I wondered how she would react to me if Sokolov could craft these lenses she hoped for. Would she still stare, knowing what was beneath them? It would be worth participating to see how people viewed me when I at least looked like any other human…

 **End Chapter**

These chapters always get away from me. They end up longer than I mean for them too. I guess I just have to go with the flow of what I'm feeling though. College starts back up for me tomorrow so I'll be very busy. I make zero promises on when I'll be able to post again...but happy new year!

 _-Aura_

To my reviewers:

 _Mantic64_ \- Not a bad idea but Corvo needs to be about the capital as Emily needs someone she trusts - short supply at the moment.

 _tigerfur_ \- It's more of a mix, I went with it based on how my own play through the game went. I mostly noticed that almost everyone seemed dead when I ended up in Delilah's chapter at the final parts.

 _Dori and Connor_ \- Thanks for the reviews, I will post more as I have the time : )


	6. Forgotten

**Chapter Six:** **_Forgotten_**

 _Memory is a paradoxical concept. It can be both cloudy and clear, mislabeled and perfect, joyous and grief-stricken. It is, I suppose, like love, dependent solely on the minute details…_

 _The Outsider –_

Sokolov, the man was a genius, but also decidedly bothersome in his endless questions. He was able to help, of course, if there was anyone in the whole of this country that could it would be him, but he had barely stopped speaking since Emily had dropped him off that morning. If I was able to teleport away while he worked on his design I would have, but he needed me here for fitting and tests. All in all, thus far each day as a mortal was less desirable than the last.

Normally the older man was fairly quiet – at least in these years of his life he had often adopted a speak as needed mentality. Well, for the most part, my presence seemed to have summon his inner child since he hadn't stopped chattering incessantly. I hadn't encouraged his endless questions, I'd not even answered ninety percent of them. Yet they continued to flow – like a damn that had broken the queries poured from him almost explosively at times.

At first, Sokolov had thought it was some sort of trick, or joke on his person, my being here couldn't be real after all. He'd finally convinced himself that 'the Outsider' was nothing more than a fiction decades ago, at the very least he'd stopped hoping or expecting that I'd ever appear to him. Now that I had, it fractured his view of reality, and I wasn't entirely convinced he would recover from the forced new perspective. Emily would probably be more frustrated if one of the few supporters she could trust was left insane, giving me more reason not to reply to the man's questions unless I had to for the creation of this little project.

"Can you see both worlds at the same time? The void, the one you're from, and the real world where we live?" Sokolov finally reached a set of questions at least somewhat relevant to what he was making. I'd grown tired of the sound of his voice so I chimed in with my own.

"Not exactly how it works, but I am aware of both at all times when I am in my natural state." I replied. It was more like a sharp memory, of all times, everywhere, all at once…something I could recall, or see, when I wished to as well as times when I didn't. These powers weren't always free after all, and the evenings I'd spent recently without the nightmares were starting to make me nervous they would only be worse the longer I went without them.

"Are there any substances that stop that or disrupt whatever it is that lets you see both the void and the real world?" He followed up. I perked a brow at the question, but it wasn't meant in malice or deceit, I could have felt such negatively. He was asking purely from the perspective of a creator.

"No." I answered honestly. I'd never found a physical substance that disrupted my power. Only some of the sounds the abbey had concocted over the centuries could interfere with my abilities and I wasn't going to tell them that. I didn't trust them, I certainly didn't trust Sokolov. If he had the option of putting me in a box for study he would not hesitate to take it.

"Okay, so no interference there then." He nodded, digging through some more of the pile. He had already written down several messy notes. "Good, I think these should work. They might interfere a little with your vision and make it a bit blurry or discolored but they should let you see while covering up your issue."

He handed me half spherical lenses, and I pursed my lip at the makeshift 'disguise'. They looked far from comfortable having been cut from thin glass. A normal mortal that tried to put these on would probably go blind. "They're too large, cut the sides down by an eighth of an inch."

"Hmm? I guess perhaps they would be difficult." He put back on the goggles for cutting, making him look all the more the part of a mad scientist. Then he followed my request without complaint. The lenses had been painted, the whites were a substance that I could still see through but not overly well and the rest was thinner, shaded slightly so my eyes would appear a dark brown instead of the black I currently possessed. I disliked the need for something that would hinder my senses at all, but I understood it for appearances sake. After the day, I was fairly keen on escaping here to try them out, if only to get away from Sokolov as soon as possible.

He handed me the finished product after a few minutes and I separated myself to an area of the vault with a mirror to put them in. Around that time Emily entered, a sign of how much time had passed while I was suffering with Sokolov in this hidden area. She had promised she would be busy until dinner, and now that she'd gotten hear I felt the slight pang of hunger in my center. I didn't need to eat as much as the rest of the mortals, I'd already figured that out, but it had been a while since the one-sided conversation at lunch in this closet and I expect my stomach was no less excited to be free than the rest of me.

"Empress Emily." Sokolov smiled at her the way a grandfather would a granddaughter. His connection to Emily was easy, as so many in her life had been. Those that got to know her the most always came to love her. It was a pity so few had that option with the place she'd been born too. I wonder if she would be happier having never taken the reigns of her country. A pointless question, she would have been, most would…but at the same time her life would not have had the same meaning. "Is it that late already? I believe we've just finished, he's putting them in now."

"Already?" Emily asked with a bit of surprise, glancing from Sokolov to me and offering a light smile. I nodded to her politely, though I lacked the bow that Sokolov had given. I felt as though it had been many days as opposed to one and given I'd helped the man design it, her surprise was slightly insulting.

The paint did offer me some view, albeit the warned foggy one, the lenses fit more smoothly than I had expected but looking up and down, left and right…I couldn't spot the black around my new gaze. I had, for all intents and purposes, dark brown eyes. I looked surprisingly mortal. I wonder what colors my eyes had been, before the sacrifice…I couldn't remember but brown felt natural enough…

"Yes, yes, good we have you here, you can be the first judge." Sokolov's comment drew me out of the self-reflection. I wouldn't be able to wear them all the time, too much time and it would damage even me…but they would function for those times I had to be visible to others. I headed back around the corner and Sokolov grinned at his own handiwork. I was more surprised at the way Emily stared at me. She seemed shocked at the change, walking several steps closer and moving some bangs from my face as if to get a closer look. Her attention this near made it clear her eyes were brown as well, they'd always been…except for in her youngest days, when she was first born they'd been slate-grey. I preferred them as they were now.

"That's amazing…he looks human." Emily breathed, still staring at my face while speaking as if I wasn't just in front of her. I smirked a bit at the idea of it, being paraded like this, but I didn't mind nearly as much given her apt attention. I watched her in return, noting the lines that hadn't been there before the last few months. Her return to power had been difficult for her, and would continue to be…how many more would she have by the time I was returned to the void? Was she going to have as many as Corvo someday?

Her hair was parted differently than how she'd worn it as a child. On the opposite side of her head, I was about to ask if she'd made the change consciously to show herself in a new light but Sokolov did what he was best at: speak.

"So Emily, how is Wyman?" Sokolov asked, and I heard a pointed harshness in his voice that hadn't been there while he asked me questions all day. I glanced up, more curious than concerned as Emily retreated a step, her head turning toward Sokolov much more swiftly, as though she'd forgotten he was there. What was this about? Her lover? Were they not aware what had happened?

"I haven't heard from him, not sense…everything." Emily stated, a bit darkly. I sighed, it was seemingly my fate to be the bearer of bad news.

"He was assassinated…in Morley, Delilah sent the witches that did it." I remarked, my voice slightly lighter than usual. I saw each of them tense at the information. Both suddenly staring at me again. "It was when you were in Aramis Stilton's manor. Poison. Though it was swift, he felt little."

"Oh…good…" Emily remarked distractedly. I couldn't blame her for the surprise, she couldn't have known having not heard any information after all. Delilah hadn't wanted her to have any allies after Emily escaped from the manor, it was surprising Wyman had lasted that long. "…I…would you two mind if I spent some time alone?"

"Of course, not Emily dear, my condolences child." Sokolov said in as sweet a tone as I ever heard him use, reserved for when he wished to be empathetic. He headed out and I didn't disagree, following him and moving toward the food I smelled when we reached her quarters. She'd taken to getting extra plates for us and I had to admit the food here was far better than that in the city.

"What was that for?" Sokolov hissed at me after I sat down, earning him a frown.

"The information? It seemed fair to inform all of you since you hadn't learned of it." I answered, furrowing my brow. Was he planning to stay forever just endlessly asking questions?

"The boy was her lover, you don't think you could have been a bit more tactful?" Sokolov frowned at me. "Just because you are jealous of someone, doesn't mean you should speak ill of the dead. You shouldn't be thinking like that anyway, Emily is a living girl…whatever you are, you don't belong with her?"

"Why would I think to?" I just stared at the man, had he really gone mad in the confusion. I didn't even justify the accusation of jealousy with any sort of response.

"Uh huh, just be careful. Corvo was right, the sooner you get back to the void the better. This is not the sort of trouble she needs." Sokolov was grumbling on his way out the door, glaring at me as he went. I stared curiously after him, folding my hands under my chin, setting the elbows on the table as I thought about it.

Be with Emily? Had I given that impression? That we were something more than comrades that were working toward a shared goal?

 _Yes._

That's why Sokolov had brought up her lover. He was trying to interfere with something that didn't exist…at least not until he'd pointed it out. Emily was impressive as far as humans went after all, and I had safeguarded her for the whole of her life…from Daud, from Delilah, from countless tiny assassins and power-seekers. Was there something more to it than whim? Than the protection of an area I once called home? Did I subconsciously know more than the cards in front of me?

Then there was Emily…

Now that it had been pointed out, I realized the signs were there but I'd been too distracted with my escape to notice them often. I knew that she found me attractive, many did, but did she expect something more? She was in the closet mourning her dead lover, so that seemed unlikely as well but obviously Sokolov had seen it or he wouldn't have brought it up. Frustrating old man…

Still, for annoying as Sokolov could be he was right in this instance. Whatever strange possibilities that Sokolov or Emily may have considered as far as a relationship went…I didn't have the luxury of something of that nature. I did need to get back to the void as soon as possible…even the option of entertaining some sort of deeper relationship was completely out of the normal view for me. Thinking that it could have been some long subconscious plan…perhaps Sokolov wasn't the only one that had gone mad in the closet today.

I shook my head, dismissing the idea and picked up the silverware. I'd only gotten a few bites in when the door to the vault slid open. I could hear and smell the difference in the air with Emily's presence before she was visible, just as well with my somewhat limited new eyes. The sea wasn't the only source of salt in the room. She paused to stare at me, glancing between the food and me before frowning at me.

"Really?" She scowled more as she walked closer. "After you drop that on me you just come back here and act like nothing is wrong?"

Was she trying to start a fight? I canted my head at her.

"I was hungry. That is the purpose for the second plate is it no…" My question was interrupted, I caught her hand before it touched my cheek but it didn't pause the fact that she'd attempted to strike me in the first place. I wasn't angry with her, just a bit surprised. I searched her face but she looked down, away from me. A pity she wasn't as easy to read as the rest of the mortals. "Emily, I apologize for your los…"

"Stop." She shook her head, holding up a hand. "You aren't sorry, you are just going through the motions, pretending so I won't still be mad and I'll help you on this little adventure. Why wouldn't you have told me sooner?"

"I do not pretend, Emily Kaldwin." I replied sharply, feeling irritation getting under my skin. The day had already been difficult and I wasn't in the mood to deal with another childish tantrum. "I did not tell you because it had not been relevant until now. I simply hadn't thought about it until Sokolov mentioned him."

I had the forethought not to tell her that Wyman was irrelevant to me in the scheme of everything so I'd forgotten he'd existed until Sokolov brought him up.

"You…no, nevermind. You probably can't help it. Go ahead, eat both plates…I'm not hungry anymore anyway." She stalked off faster than she'd come, leaving off into the palace. I presumed to either sneak out or do something away from me. I remained frowning…was she blaming me for his death? Probably, humans mislabeled and projected their pain on others all the time. It was one of the things I least liked about them…then again…was I at some fault? Rarely were humans totally innocent either…I suppose I lacked the ability to empathize as a normal human would. I should have been…what was the word they use…supportive?

I closed my eyes – it was uncomfortable with the lenses in, I could feel the sliver of difference compared to not having them in. She was leaping away at that moment, not too far from the room I was in now…going off on one of her escapes to the city rooftops. She wasn't calling on the powers that linked us…taking a longer more difficult route. She was still angry with me then…Daud had done similar things in the past when he'd gotten frustrated with me, as had other marked. I always found it curious, but this was the first time I questioned if I'd possibly deserved the treatment. I sighed and continued to cut my meal…it wouldn't do any good to pursuit her until she'd managed to wear herself down a little.

 _Emily –_

"Empress Emily." I mirrored the warm smile Sokolov offered me as I entered the vault. I had always cared for the older man, he was the closest thing to a grandfather I ever expected to have. So few of my real relationships were blood family after all. I glanced around, not spotting the Outsider immediately, a bit disappointed. I had been busy preparing through the afternoon and much of the evening with father and Caldoun so I was missing this crafting session and I was hoping to see designs but I didn't see many papers around him.

"Is it that late already? I believe we've just finished, he's putting them in now." Sokolov didn't seem to notice my disappointment, he was looking at the clock on the wall. He seemed honestly surprised that the hour was past dinner, but I had felt all of the boring conversation all day.

"Already?" I was surprised, even though I had a long day I expected it to take longer to craft something I'd just thought of and asked for. He'd not only made designs, he'd finished a product? Corvo was right that the man was the genius of our time.

"Yes, yes, good we have you here, you can be the first judge." He was grinning like he used to when he would make me small toys to make me giggle or laugh. I had to admit I didn't mind the lighter side of him. It wasn't too common for anyone to wear a smile these days.

Then the Outsider came out from one of the side areas…and I was taken aback. It was a complete change to the black the eyes had been before. I had to step closer, looking for flaws I'd reached up to brush bangs from his face without thinking about it. They were still dark, even though Sokolov had crafted the Outsider brown eyes, they were still dark. Knowing what was underneath them, I found myself searching for it – the void in his gaze that had trapped me so easily the night before.

"That's amazing…he looks human." I admitted lightly, though I could still feel the difference, that there was something beneath the illusion waiting to swallow me up. It almost made it harder not to stare, to search for the flaw in the disguise I'd asked them to craft. I wasn't sure if I wanted to applaud them or tell them to change it. A part of me almost missed the darkness…

The Outsider seemed ready to speak, he'd spent the several long silent seconds I stared returning my gaze, but it was Sokolov's voice that crashed into me like a rail cart. "So Emily, how is Wyman?"

The guilt was almost immediate. Wyman. I hadn't thought about him in weeks. Yet the name returned my memories clearly enough, the involved ways we tangled up in each other only feet away in this very room months ago.

"I haven't heard from him, not sense…everything." I replied as strongly as I could. It was the truth, but I hadn't exactly looked for him either. Even though I'd just told myself I was possibly falling for someone else…how does someone forget their lover exactly? I knew Sokolov must have noticed my interest in the Outsider – the intensity he made me feel had to be clear. I backed away swiftly, but too swiftly and that just told everything I didn't say. I was a horrible person.

"He was assassinated…in Morley, Delilah sent the witches that did it." The Outsider's voice was so nonchalant about the information. As though he were one of the attendants letting me know that everything today was expected to be completely average. The information only further pressed the guilt that was rising in my chest, it was difficult to breath…but he kept speaking. "It was when you were in Aramis Stilton's manor. Poison. Though it was swift, he felt little."

…

"Oh…good…" What did you say to that? What was the proper response to learning that your lover was killed because of who you were? That you had already somehow stopped thinking about them and they'd just died? Where was the proper court response to that? Somehow, I managed to stay somewhat composed. "…I…would you two mind if I spent some time alone?"

Sokolov agreed and muttered an apology, but the Outsider just followed him. My knees touched the floor at the same time the door was sliding shut. Another person dead because I was the Empress of Dunwall…it was my fault. There was no other reason for someone to target Wyman than because of his connection to me. Delilah…

I punched the floor, it made my hand hurt but I didn't care…I punched it again. What was the point of all of this supposed power if I couldn't keep anyone that got close to me safe? I swallowed back the bile rising in my throat. I didn't deserve to let myself get sick over this. I'd not thought about Wyman in months…none of my thoughts had turned to him almost at all while I was getting the country back. I didn't love him…not the way I should have…but now that I'd been told he was gone my chest still hurt. With guilt more than anything…

While I was at Aramis Stilton's manor…

I was so concerned with Delilah I'd forgotten Wyman.

Clearly I didn't love him as I should…but he'd been a friend, more than a friend…a confidant that I needed when I felt all I was doing was surviving the throne. I know it wouldn't have been better if Delilah kept the throne, but I wasn't sure I deserved it either.

The Outsider was handing me a tool by which to help kill her at the same time my lover was dying but he couldn't take a moment to tell me? He offered me the very ability to travel through time to achieve my goals but forwent that small piece of information?

Why?

 _Why hadn't I asked?_

I curled my arms around myself, I could feel the moisture falling along my face. I knew I should have felt worse, that I should have been sobbing uncontrollably…isn't that what one does for a lover? I wondered if father still sobbed for mother…but some part of me knew that if he didn't now he had at some point. What sort of person was I? What sort of person was the crown making me?

I took a deep breath, wiping at my face…I couldn't just sit here…I needed to be moving…doing something. I could go out, if ever I had an excuse to escape to the rooftops of the city it was now. I walked out to the side, opening the vault…pausing when I saw the Outsider eating at the table, he looked so calm, so composed. As if nothing at all had happened…

"Really?" I knew it wasn't his fault…but the words came anyway…the anger was there…the desire to lash out…to do something with the pain inside me. "After you drop that on me you just come back here and act like nothing is wrong?"

Nor was I wrong…he could have approached me more gently…told me sooner…

"I was hungry. That is the purpose for the second plate is it no…" I tried to slap him, I didn't want him to act like this was nothing. Like Wyman was nothing…I'd done more than enough of that…and I hated that anyone else would. He caught my hand though, watching me with that same calm…I hated it in that moment. His calm was so horrible when I didn't want it, I loathed his ability to just take anything happening as more than a vague interest and usually as completely unimportant. "Emily, I apologize for your los…"

"Stop." I interrupted him, holding up a hand. He didn't get to apologize…not when he could have said so much more…so much sooner. Was Wyman really that unimportant in the end? What about the nights I'd spent with him? What about his sister who counted on him? Had she died as well? Clearly the Outsider wouldn't care one way or another…and I refused to rely on him to ask what I wanted to ask. . "You aren't sorry, you are just going through the motions, pretending so I won't still be mad and I'll help you on this little adventure. Why wouldn't you have told me sooner?"

"I do not pretend, Emily Kaldwin." His voice went cold for the first time in our short one-sided argument. I was railing and he was still controlled. Yet, even the things I didn't say he seemed to know... "I did not tell you because it had not been relevant until now. I simply hadn't thought about it until Sokolov mentioned him."

Him staring at me, I couldn't help but feel small, even if he looked human, he was so much more than that…our lives were so little to him. I couldn't even look at him. He was only doing what came naturally, and even now he was kinder than I wanted.

"You…no, nevermind. You probably can't help it. Go ahead, eat both of the plates…I'm not hungry anymore anyway." I knew the push wouldn't work, that he wouldn't chase after me. I wanted someone to punish me, I wanted to be in pain…I deserved it, didn't I? For what I'd done? Why wouldn't he fight me back? I needed to find trouble…I had to be somewhere else, not here. Anywhere but here, so close to where I'd spent days with Wyman when he was alive…before I'd forgotten everything seeking the throne.

I took to the rooftops, ignoring the fact that it had started to rain. Perhaps if I could find some members of a gang and rescue someone, or take out some threat to the people of the city – I would feel less worthless as it's ruler. That Wyman's death might mean something more if I could improve everything…yet, either because Delilah had already driven them out, or they'd left by fear of my return to the crown – I couldn't find any of vagabond's I was hoping for.

It was probably an hour later and I was soaked through my clothing but I didn't turn back toward the palace. Instead I climbed higher, the storm met my mood today. I leapt from a vent to pull myself onto the edge of a roof, sighing as I looked down with blurred vision. It was days like today I hated the most…when I learned people died for my place here. I growled at the thought, jumping again, but this time my foot caught a tile that was loose and it slipped from under me. I grasped for the ledge but it was too wet outside. As the feeling of weightlessness overtook me I had to laugh, I could almost hear Wyman telling me that it was dangerous to go out in this sort of weather.

 **End Chapter**

So a bit angst but I wanted to not just visit but face the fact that Emily had possessed a lover at the start of the game that was mentioned and then, at least from what I recall, she never really talked about after the first chapter. Next chapter should be more positive!

 _-Aura_

 _P.S._ My husband is leaving for a month and a half starting tomorrow and that may have also influenced the chapter going this dark. XD

To my reviewers:

 _50Shades_ –There are other stories on here, I think mine probably has the longest chapters but there are some others with shorter entries worth reading : ) Thanks though, I'm glad you like it.


	7. Guilt

**Chapter Seven:** **_Guilt_**

 _For something so specific, guilt is rather well rounded and often transforms into other faces with ease, anger, dislike, sadness, frustration, they all seem if not to be a cover for guilt – to be its close friends. Then, it also inspires much philanthropy as people try to ease it…how much worse or better would the world be without it?_

 _Emily –_

Falling, I enjoy it. I always have.

The wind tearing past your head, the weightlessness of it. It's the closest thing to flying that I ever expect to get. There is a freedom to letting yourself just fall, joining the rest of the drops of water in the storm, recognizing that you are so much smaller than the world makes you feel sometimes. I remember explaining it to Wyman once. He didn't understand, he told me that my description of it was a bit terrifying but that I was cute all the same. He loved me…

How many more people would die for love of me? Mother didn't die because of me but I still remember the sword going through her all the same. She died for this crown, the one that nearly killed father, that killed Wyman. Would it be any easier if I didn't call on my power and stop my fall? If I just let myself hit the ground and left all of this behind? No. If I wasn't here someone worse could just take my place. Dunwall was mine…

Wyman had been mine too…

At least one of them I could save. I had been falling a while, longer than I should have let myself probably, but I knew my city well…I'd wandered it often in the past. I was about to call on the power that I'd been given by the Outsider, I was already reaching my hand to the side where it could pull me to a balcony and I'd be safe from the impact of the cobblestones below. When I opened my eyes however, the world had stopped…

Around me droplets of water were paused in midair, only moving to the side when I shifted my arm. I blinked at the sight…it was beautiful, the lights from below reflected in each of the tiny orbs, making the sky seem brighter than it was, as if it were filled with fireflies. Even upside down I could appreciate the beauty of it…a backalley of my broken capital frozen in a moment was perhaps one of the loveliest things I'd seen. I reached out, pulling a few drops together and they moved as I willed them, crafting a larger bauble of water in the air near my chest.

"Are you planning to move or just play for a while?" The voice I knew well, I glanced in wonder toward the outsider who was standing on the same balcony I'd planned to escape to before time had stopped. Was this just a fraction of his power then? How long had he left me hanging there? Was there any way to measure time that was frozen? I blinked at him, then looked back at the frozen droplets, committing the moment to memory. It was a fitting goodbye…a sort of timeless tribute to a man that had been important…

I joined the Outsider on the balcony a moment later, pushing the water from my eyes and hair, I knew I had to look a mess but I felt better after the run. Like I had let go of something…I glanced toward the alley, smiling a little since he hadn't started moving the rain yet. "It's beautiful…how much power do you have to just be able to turn off the clock?"

"Enough, but not as much as you might believe." He offered what I was coming to expect from him. A non-answer. The drench came a moment later and I started a bit at the sudden change, looking back at him, glad for the overhang above us. I noted he wasn't wet and shook my head, figures he wouldn't be.

"I um…I owe you an apology. It isn't your fault what happened…I shouldn't have taken it out on you." I apologized, because that's what one should do when one is wrong. I was wrong more than I would like, but lacked the ability to apologize very often because an Empress should never show any sort of defeat. I was still guilty, and sad, and angry…but I appreciated that he'd come here after me when I'd only tried to start a fight with him. Perhaps he wasn't as careless as I'd thought. "Thank you for coming after me."

"I do need you to complete the ritual after all." He commented coolly enough that I wasn't sure if he was joking or serious. I had to stare a short moment before he offered his half smile and I relaxed. "Besides, did I not promise your father I would look after you?"

"I guess…but I still shouldn't have been angry with you…mostly I was angry….but at myself…I hadn't barely thought about Wyman in a while…then it all came up at once." I drifted off, what was I doing? I frowned. "Sorry, you aren't here to be my confidant. I should not be so informal with you."

"Is that what you are?" He asked, curiously.

"I…am sometimes." I answered, glad for the cold since it covered up the blush I felt creeping to my face. For all my distaste this evening… my chest tightened when I looked at him. Of all the emotions, these were the exact sort that were irresponsible for me to have. Yet, I couldn't help it…even after learning about Wyman it didn't just turn off how I felt…I wished it could. "Do you often turn off time when it rains?"

"It is good to get a different perspective occasionally." The Outsider answered, glancing to where it was still pouring down outside our balcony. His next statement came after a long enough pause that it was difficult to tell if he meant the first statement as a part of the second. "I don't mind that you speak to me informally Empress, if it helps you, you should do so."

"It isn't that simple." I followed his gaze outside, not wanting to watch him…but somehow it only made our encounter more intimate – us stashed away with only the other for company, in the middle of a hidden sanctum within the storm. _Our_ balcony indeed. Gone and far from the troubles of the crown, I felt more freedom here…more myself. It made me more open to imagination and possibility but that also scared me. What mistakes would I make if I let these sorts of thoughts in? I had a throne to return to after all.

"Does it need to be?" He had stayed silent a moment before asking the question. I chewed my lip as I considered the implications. Was he asking me leading questions or was I just reading too much into it? Then again, he was here…

"Why did you come after me? You didn't have to." I asked, hoping and not hoping that he was being honest with his first statement. If he had no mutual interest it would be so much easier to ignore the butterflies in my stomach after all. I at least managed to look back at him, swallowing when I realized he'd been staring at me instead of the storm before I had. Even with the disguise that made him look more human, I knew what power lie just beneath the illusion.

"I wanted to." He replied, his voice still was light – a hum just above the thrum of the storm around us. A whisper in the wind that still was loud enough to carry over the other noises around us. I didn't need to strain to hear him but at the same time it was light enough that were I much farther away I wouldn't have noticed him. "It was noted I could have chosen a better way to phrase the information, in retrospect I agree."

"You aren't very good at apologizing." I noted, but smiled nonetheless at his answer. "I guess you don't get a lot of practice at it."

"No." He agreed, but he didn't make more effort either. I suppose I'd sort of accepted it by acknowledging that he was apologizing in the first place. These were the sorts of moments I'd always adored, being away from the limelight, out of the view of everyone else…I doubted even father would be able to spot me easily in this mess…and yet I still felt at ease even with the god of the void standing nearby. There was certainly something very wrong with me.

"I…" I wasn't sure what to say, or how I should say it…perhaps I was just taken with the ideal of romance in this sort of moment. Perhaps anyone else would have just thought me insane for considering our strange relationship intimate just now. Either way, I didn't get the chance to confess that I had questionable feelings for the Outsider. He pulled me suddenly behind him, and it was a second later I felt the warm wet stickiness of blood leaking down along my hand on his shoulder. The image of exclusion shattered as shock replaced the false sense of security…

 _The Outsider –_

Guilt.

It was an unexpected feeling.

I didn't have it often, usually only on the rare occasions I crossed my own set of guidelines. I did have a code after all, someone with the amount of power I possessed needed a strict one else things get out of hand. Like children being sacrificed to the Void in search of personal gain… Still, I had been the reason Emily had run off into the growing storm and it was now my duty to look after her. I didn't finish both the plates, though my stomach was rumbling its protest when I left. Guilt was confusing and thus far illogical, certainly there was nothing particularly likable about it. I planned to avoid it in the future.

Easier planned than accomplished.

When I reached her she was falling head first for the ground, with seemingly little intent to save herself…but I knew she had abilities other humans would lack. Finding her had been easy enough even in the rain coming down just as quickly around her. It was a simple task to follow the connection my mark created, to know where and what was happening to those with it. I had to admit, despite that ability, I hadn't quite expected to see this. I paused time to consider her, even if she'd been crying the tears would have blended with the precipitation so it was impossible to tell. Her face was relaxed however, there was even a slight smile at the edge of her lips. I could presume she'd either gotten over what was vexing her or she was quite content in this drop of hers.

Normally, I wouldn't interfere, it wasn't in my code to directly act on a person, at least in any way that would leave them knowledge of my presence. For all the rumors about my involvement in everyday affairs of mortals, I rarely did more than watch them. Though, this wasn't the first time I stepped in on Emily's behalf, I doubted it would be the last. With a thought, she was pulled into the paused time with me, I leaned on the railing of a nearby overhang. The apartment inside had been abandoned months before the recent issues. It took her a moment to notice, and when she did she seemed boggled by floating upside down with the paused raindrops around her.

She was like a child for a moment, playing with moving the water and forming larger pools in the air. I didn't understand the human fascination with the supernatural but I could appreciate that it seemed to exist in nearly all of them. After a moment to allow her the wonder I spoke up. "Are you planning to move or just play for a while?"

A shocked glance, even though she had to have known it was me, her eyes darting between me and the hanging water around us. She stared at it a long time before she called on the power I'd given her to bring her to the balcony where I stood. She looked back at it, still seeming more in awe of me than I could recall her previously. Humans picked out odd times to be impressed.

"It's beautiful…" She breathed, pushing water from her face and hair. She was soaked after her run outside…while I hadn't gotten wet through no conscious action of my own. "How much power do you have to just be able to turn off the clock?"

"Enough, but not as much as you might believe." I offered the vague answer, I'd gotten into the habit for them over the years when I did speak to humans with my gifts. I realized that I had kept myself dry through no effort…and had to think about allowing even my clothes to get wet. Something I would need to note when we were on a ship traveling if I had to pretend to be mortal.

"I um…I owe you an apology. It isn't your fault what happened…I shouldn't have taken it out on you." She apologized, looking uncomfortable…then following it up with gratitude. A swift change in feeling… "Thank you for coming after me."

"I do need you to complete the ritual after all." I remarked, it was as close to a joke that I ever really came no matter how calm I sounded I did tell them occasionally. ""Besides, did I not promise your father I would look after you?"

I could see Corvo trying to hunt me out had I let her fall.

"I guess…but I still shouldn't have been angry with you…mostly I was angry….but at myself…I hadn't barely thought about Wyman in a while…then it all came up at once." She frowned suddenly, breaking off in her description of what had happened. I doubt she even noticed she was shaking her head negatively, it was so slight it was probably subconscious. "Sorry, you aren't here to be my confidant. I should not be so informal with you."

"Is that what you are?" I had to admit, now that Sokolov had planted the seed I was curious just what was planted in Emily's mind in regards to myself.

"I…am sometimes." She said without admitting anything fully. She was growing as skilled in her non-answers as I could be. It would have been charming in any other circumstance, but I was honestly curious as to the details of her thoughts. Then she changed the subject on me. "Do you often turn off time when it rains?"

"It is good to get a different perspective occasionally." I answered, glancing away from her to the now pouring rain. I'd lost interest and stopped paying attention to my pause and time had begun again at some point during our conversation. I turned it right back to the topic at hand though, not quite willing to let her alter the course yet. "I don't mind that you speak to me informally Empress, if it helps you, you should do so."

"It isn't that simple." She stated.

I watched her, she was much more fascinating than the rain. I'd seen more rains than most people had days in their lifetimes. I wondered if that intimidated her. She certainly was dancing around offering me much more than I already knew. "Does it need to be?"

"Why did you come after me? You didn't have to." She swallowed visibly, her body pausing a moment when she met my eyes. She knew what was beneath this mask of Sokolov's, but she stared all the same. Perhaps all the realm had gone mad this early spring, it wasn't located solely in the closet I'd spent the afternoon in. Even knowing what I was or perhaps because she knew precisely what I was, she didn't blanch away from me…neither spoke well of her sanity either…

"I wanted to." I answered honestly. Though, this was all a bit more dangerous than I was expecting it to be. Emily was rather more fetching as a drowned rat than I would expect of any woman. I pressed forward, recognizing that leaving it as just those words could offer the wrong intentions. "It was noted I could have chosen a better way to phrase the information, in retrospect I agree."

"You aren't very good at apologizing." She stated with a smile. "I guess you don't get a lot of practice at it."

"No." I agreed, because it was a true observation. I rarely did anything requiring an apology. I usually did no more than point people in a direction and let them choose for themselves. I thought about adding more but there was something else here.

"I…" Whatever Emily was about to say was interrupted by me pulling her aside and stepping in front of her. I felt a change in the wind, the smoky taste of gunpowder around me a moment before the blast erupted. I also felt the agony explode across my chest with all the volume the bullet had caused shattering the air. It wasn't until the second explosion that the pain came, the bullet had hit and then erupted around me, burning into my flesh. Emily was shocked but her body was fine, I expect the way the shadows curled up around me as well as where her hand was on my shoulder was more frightening to her than the attack would have been. I grit my teeth as much in anger as pain as darkness enveloped us both.

 **End Chapter**

Well, hopefully that was a bit more romantic and exciting than the previous chapter's angst! Whew. I can't believe I already hit over 20k words on this fic.

 _-Aura_

To my reviewers:

 _Tigerfur_ – Yes, Emily didn't have an easy life. That's for sure. Of course, neither of them did. I think that's why they go so well together.


	8. Shadow

**Chapter Eight:** _Shadow_

 _Some could argue that the darkness is far more frightening than silence. The ability to hear the terror of those around you, to know that something is there without the ability to pierce through the shadows to see what could be stalking you or if you are simply making a monster from nothing harmful. The darkness at least, has much more imagination to create than the quiet…_

 _The Outsider –_

Being unseen, it is the core of what I am, of what I represent within the void. I am seen only when I will it, otherwise I am shadows, nothingness taken shape...even on those rare occasions I form a physical body to appear to others the void clings, both visible and not in the trails of oblivion…

Perhaps I wasn't in the void, but nor was I completely separated from it…not really. The longer I went the more I realized how much was there. Waiting beneath the surface for me to call upon the black, so I did. I curled the unwise assassin in tendrils of black so thick they would eat into her eyes, she would never see again. All in the short moment the blood was still splattering from the wound the explosive bullet had caused in my shoulder. I wiped from the woman her ability to ever be outside of darkness again. Light would never again touch her eyes simply because I was upset she had injured me…

I paused short of killing the killing blow. I didn't want to crush her totally, not yet. What good was destroying a blade without cutting off the hand that would wield it. Instead I pulled apart her mind with no thought to the consequence or madness such an action would leave. She was working for another witch, one deludedly loyal to Delilah. At a thought and clear across the city the witch cried out as tendrils of the void curled around, her protests choked off moments after they started. The girl wished to possess dark power? I'd let her have just enough access to tear her apart from the inside.

" outs.. ?" The voice sounded distant, but the fear in the tone caught my attention. I knew this voice.

 _Empress._

 _The third Empress…the one still alive…_

It drew me back from the black, reminded me that I couldn't lose my temper completely. The would-be assassin and the one that hired her were dead, I let the shadows that had gathered burst apart, fading from this reality as though they had been nothing more than a thin curtain that tattered and faded from view at my will. I had nothing I could say to the terrified expression on the Empress' face. Had she thought she knew me? In any intimate way? This was a reminder of just why playing with such an idea as a relationship was a pointless one.

I am the void. I am the very arctic oblivion that had just caused her to stutter my title…I lacked even a name. Was that not the point? My title gave away how much I would never be a part of her world, no matter if I had a physical body temporarily or not.

"Are you all right?" She had snapped back to herself after the moment passed, she recovered well enough and swiftly but it was clear that seeing a portion of my true self had harrowed her. Just as well, no matter what slight twinges of emotion I had now, once I was returned to the void I wouldn't feel for her…I would feel exceptionally little. Which would be just as well for me…I was allowing this form to augment my usual actions.

"Not in particular, it hurts." I complained at my shoulder. Now that the anger was subsiding I was left only with the pain, and none too pleased by it. Though, even as I watched the wound was already beginning to close…pieces of the metal being pushed out of my body leaving bright trails of blood. Knowing what this body could do, what it was capable of, was interesting, but in this case far from enjoyable. I caught the pieces of the metal that fell…such a weapon would need to be destroyed after drawing my blood.

The world outside the void was so much more stark and I missed the grey of home…not everyone wanted some horizon painted in watercolors. For some, the bright array of the spectrum was merely painful. The assassin above us let out a slightly strangled cry, stumbling back and clawing at her face…the shadows may have tattered away from reality for myself and Emily…but they would never recede for the woman that had shot a god. It was both more and less merciful a fate for such a creature all depending on who you asked.

"What did you do to her?" Emily asked, glancing up toward where the woman was still screaming incoherently about her eyes. She didn't sound particularly offended by my action, more curious, perhaps anxiously so.

"I blinded her." I offered the most simplistic answer I had. Closing my eyes and taking Emily's shoulder before I pulled us both through reality.

Sitting a moment later on the mattress that had come to be mine in the Dunwall Castle's 'secret' vault, vaguely aware Emily had sat next to me. Traveling so far in an instant after all the other power I'd used left me seeing black dots that weren't there, I'd called on too much power too quickly. Summoning the oblivion of the void had been taxing, I felt dizzy and disoriented after the event. Probably not helped by the blood still fresh and flowing from the tiny broken pieces of shrapnel still being pushed from my shoulder.

Emily was silent as well, I suppose pulling her with me would disorient her as well given her own ability never had taken her a fraction of this length in space. Just as well, I had a grudging appreciation for the quiet of this closet for the first time. Perhaps that was why mortals enjoyed quiet from time to time, so many of them were constantly in some sort of pain, and I must admit after being shot, or perhaps because of my morning with Sokolov, I enjoyed that few moments of quiet where she simply sat next to me as disoriented with the world as I was. Of course, she recovered a bit more quickly than I had.

"Outsider." Her voice was concerned enough that I reopened my eyes to see her staring at my still bloody shoulder…the bleeding was slowed now but hadn't stopped completely. Was that why I was still dizzy then? "Take off your jacket and shirt."

"It will heal." I remarked, but to little avail as she was already undoing the buttons along the front of my jacket. I didn't move to stop her, but I didn't move to aid her either. She discarded the jacket after pulling it from my arms and began to undo the front of the dress shirt beneath it. She wasn't staring at me in wonder the way she normally might…instead she was intent merely on making certain I was safe. An amusing thought, since I was the one that had promised to keep her safe.

I believe I liked the concept more than her moments of mystic mesmerism, being treated even for a fraction of time, like I was nothing more than a mortal even though she knew more than any human how much I wasn't…I hate to admit how endearing the concept was. I helped her take my injured arm from its sleeve, too exhausted to try and argue with her. Several more metal fragments fell to the ground from where they'd pierced me…I made a mental note to go and check the scene for any others later. The remnants of that bullet would need to be destroyed…who knew what sort of ritual could be made from a weapon that had harmed the Outsider? Nothing good.

"You should either cauterize them or let me sew up the holes." Emily stated. She'd gathered a few supplies while I'd gotten lost in thought. She was washing off my arm and shoulder, looking at the wounds. They still hadn't closed completely but I expected they would before long. "You've already lost a lot of blood."

"No needle would let you sew it…" I pointed out. "Nor am I in a hurry to have more fire pressed into my flesh…they are already knitting cloOw!"

My comments turned to protest as she pressed a cloth against my injured shoulder. God or not, having someone push against open fresh wounds didn't engender feelings of gratitude. I have to admit her not withdrawing from my glare was a nod to her bravery. She frowned back at me instead.

"Don't whine, you aren't a child, are you? If it's already healing, then we just need to limit the blood flow." She said instead, still pressing on my shoulder from both sides with her rags…ignoring the red that was discoloring the white fabric and staining her hands. I lacked either desire or energy to argue with her further, painful or not she had trained in first aid so I let her apply the pressure as she could. I didn't even realize I'd let my eyes slide closed again until she asked a question. "Is…is this the first time you've been hurt since you became the Outsider?"

I reached up to pull the lenses out of my eyes while she was focused on my shoulder. The glass lenses weren't making me feel any better and I vaguely recalled Sokolov going on about not sleeping with them. "I have felt whispers of pain, echoes from the void or memory…but in your meaning yes, I have felt nothing like this."

"How was that even possible? For them to hurt you?" She asked, her voice having relaxed from the original fear now that I didn't seem ready to expire in her closet.

"I expect it was the nature of the weapon. Humans have come far since the days I became the Outsider. It would have killed you, I'll be fine after some time." I answered, the pain was slowly lessening and the bleeds slowing but the wounds would close, I had confidence in that.

"But, enough damage could still kill you." Emily remarked, frowning as she switched to a fresh set of towels. "The bleeding is slowing finally."

"Theoretically, more reason to leave soon. Did you not say we could be on the boat tomorrow?" I asked, letting her play nurse as she liked. Content to reclose my eyes after I set the lenses to the side. Perhaps I was the void, but I was also dizzy, and closing my eyes helped me keep my consciousness as she spoke to me.

"Yes, will you be able to go?" Emily asked.

"I'll be fine by tomorrow. I simply need time to rest." I did open one eye to look at her when I felt her moving my arm. She was wrapping it in a bandage. Apparently, content enough with how much the blood had slowed. She glanced to me, blinking once in surprise that I'd taken the lenses out, she apparently hadn't been paying attention.

"Outsider…thank you." She said more softly than the rest of the conversation, busying herself with the bandage after the glance to my single open eye. "You got hurt because of me, I'll do what I can to make sure it doesn't happen again."

"I would appreciate that." I admitted, smiling a bit at her shyness. Even after having seen a portion of me she still returned to this? Wasn't she persistent?

"All right. In the morning, I'll let them know that we'll still be leaving in when the ship is prepared to set sail." Emily didn't argue my insistence that I would be all right, though I believe she wanted to. At least she recognized the importance of this task. "You should lay down then. I know it is early but you said you needed rest."

I let her fuss, laying down as she asked and amused when she put a blanket over me…the same way the mother had done to the child I watched through his window only a few days before. I should mind or tell her not to consider me as a human, but I still enjoyed it. A part of me wanted the attention, the positive feelings, that so few would offer the Outsider…at least so few that weren't searching for greater power in return. I suppose I couldn't know if Emily wasn't after the same, but I doubted it. To be treated as a normal creature was alien…but I enjoyed it all the same.

 _Emily –_

Emptiness.

The attack was shocking, I was concerned for the Outsider…I'd certainly never seen him bleed before, but then the world disappeared. It seemed to be swallowed up by his anger and pain, and in the darkness, there was so vast a space that it chilled me. The cold that swept across my spirit was far more biting than the temperature which dropped around us. I could still feel him there…the only warmth in this space was his shoulder…the blood that ran along my hand. A streak of lava in black ice…were I able to see I expected my breath would have been clouding in front of me.

Yet, the fear that crept into my skin, that made the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end was not the wintery blindness but the immense hollow. I was balanced on a tiny precipice, hanging barely by a thread on the edge of an endless chasm of isolation. It was the complete sense of loneliness that struck me hardest…as though I were about to lose everything, all sense of self, of memory, left with nothing but a translucent shell…

" outs.. ?" I had never been more terrified in my life.

I was uncertain he could hear me, but I doubted I could pull together the strength to speak again…it had been difficult to stutter his name the first time. Despair was wrapping itself around me like a cloak…it was about to smother me when it was gone. The darkness burst apart to the rain, the warm humidity in the air, the coppery scent of blood, the sticky red on my fingers…I breathed deeply as I tried to both decipher and forget what had just happened to me. My mind reeled but I forced myself back to the present…a god had just been shot in front of me.

"Are you all right?" It felt an absurd question after what had just happened, the immensity of what I'd just seen. Yet, that sort of familiar simple statement also grounded me, I was here, I was in this reality.

"Not in particular, it hurts." He complained, frowning at his shoulder and picking up bits of the bullet that had exploded when it impacted him. I'd seen such bullets before but they were specialized equipment, and that weapon had been meant for me. Was that glimpse of the death I could have had then? No…the Outsider had taken the bullet…

A scream drew my eyes up toward a rooftop where a female voice was yelling something about her sight. She sounded frantic and lost, an echo of the absolute melancholy of that emptiness. I shuttered to think about what was happening to her now.

"What did you do to her?" I asked. The woman had tried to kill me after all. I felt little sympathy for her situation, but I also was nervous about just what the Outsider was capable of. How much of his power did he truly never use?

"I blinded her." He stated coldly. I knew there was more to it. She was still screaming nonsense about her eyes and the dark. I could make out just enough to be less than willing to want to experience what she was. Whatever the woman had been, she wouldn't assassinate anyone ever again…that much was obvious. I was about to ask if we should speak to her when the Outsider took my shoulder and we weren't outside. I didn't even know where we were at first, or realize that I had sat next to him on his bed in the vault.

He'd simply taken us from one place to another in an instant? I blinked several times, it didn't take much to suspend my disbelief of the notion but I also needed a moment to regain my personal equilibrium. My mind needed some balance as much as my body after that unexpected assault…but when I looked at the Outsider I realized I had time for neither. The crimson spots were growing more visible on his jacket than they had been.

"Outsider." I was worried about him. Would he still die from this? How often were injured people taken by infection? I needed to do something for him, I couldn't exactly go get a doctor. "Take off your jacket and shirt."

"It will heal." He remarked as I gathered quickly some medical supplies. We kept first aid kits on hand and a bowl and water only took me a moment. I set them nearby and went to taking off his clothes myself when he just sat there. He could be going into shock for all I knew. After all, I hadn't really thought him capable of being injured until now either. When I got the jacket free more pieces of the shrapnel fell to the floor. Was it a good sign that his body was removing them on its own? There were many holes in his skin where the offending metal shards had been pushed free, many of them bleeding. I cleaned around the area to get a better view as gently as I could and he was still quiet…was he falling asleep? That couldn't be good. I needed to keep him talking, conscious.

"You should either cauterize them or let me sew up the holes." I said aloud in hopes he could still hear me. I was trying to wash what I could but he was still bleeding too much for it to be a help. If he was really going to heal he should get to work on doing it a little faster. "You've already lost a lot of blood."

"No needle would let you sew it…" He pointed out. Which was true enough, I hadn't thought of that. "Nor am I in a hurry to have more fire pressed into my flesh…they are already knitting cloOw!"

I had pressed both of my hands against opposite sides of the wounds on his shoulder, hoping that the pressure would slow the bleeding. He was clearly not too happy with my sudden decision but I didn't back up even though he was giving me the dirtiest look I'd ever seen him give anyone. I frowned back at him.

"Don't whine, you aren't a child, are you? If it's already healing, then we just need to limit the blood flow." I insisted. He stared a moment longer but he didn't argue with me so I stayed there pressing against the wounds from either side. As I thought about what had happened, I wondered if that intense sense of loss was what he felt all the time in the void. Was it why he had ended up so different? How had he not gone insane though if that was the case? I let out a small huff at the confusion of what he'd done on the balcony before I realized he was starting to fall asleep again.

"Is…is this the first time you've been hurt since you became the Outsider?" I asked. I remembered his description of it well enough, the way he'd stopped struggling because of the ropes digging into his skin.

He moved a little but wasn't pulling away at least so I focused on keeping the pressure up despite the burning that was starting to form in my arms.

"I have felt whispers of pain, echoes from the void or fractured memories…but in your meaning yes, I have felt nothing like this." His reply may have been heartbreaking in another circumstance, I could certainly feel empathy for him. No wonder he was reacting so poorly to having been injured.

"How was that even possible? For them to hurt you?" I asked, glad when he stopped moving so I could focus easier on keeping the pressure in place.

"I expect it was the nature of the weapon. Humans have come far since the days I became the Outsider. It would have killed you, I'll be fine after some time." He answered. It was impressive that he just stayed there, even if he was basically letting me do whatever I wanted. I was starting to feel more that he just didn't have the energy to argue with me…

"But, enough damage could still kill you." I pointed out, frowning as I had to take a break and switch to a new set of towels, the last was already quite soaked. I realized though that it wasn't as bad. "The bleeding is slowing finally."

"Theoretically, more reason to leave soon. Did you not say we could be on the boat tomorrow?" He spoke so easily of his possible death. Did he not care that much? Or was there more to this that I didn't know? Was he simply too tired?

"Yes, will you be able to go?" I asked. I was concerned in the circumstances, I'd never seen him this out of it.

"I'll be fine by tomorrow. I simply need time to rest." He insisted, opening an eye to look at me as I started wrapping his arm in a bandage. I realized he had taken out the lenses Sokolov had made him and the glance at his Stygian eyes chilled me slightly, I could remember the nothingness he'd summoned so clearly when I saw them. I glanced back to my work, nervous he would sense my discomfort.

"Outsider…thank you." I said quietly. I'd nearly lost someone else simply by being who I was, if he had been a mortal we both probably would have died from the damage of that sort of bullet. I hated the idea that he was suffering because of me, that I couldn't do more for him. Despite the attack, and the vision, I felt embarrassed suddenly... "You got hurt because of me, I'll do what I can to make sure it doesn't happen again."

"I would appreciate that." He offered a smile as he said it and I still didn't look directly at him. I wasn't sure I could trust myself to. Instead I double checked the bandage wasn't too tight while being stable enough to last the night.

"All right. In the morning, I'll let them know that we'll still be leaving in when the ship is prepared to set sail." I could hardly tell him no. He'd been keeping up his end of this bargain. He got shot for me, it felt inconsiderate to try and delay at all after that. "You should lay down then. I know it is early but you said you needed rest."

He didn't argue with me and thankfully had closed his eyes again. He smirked a bit when I put a blanket over him but thankfully didn't peek to see the blush on my face. I hesitated near the bed, he would probably rest just as well without me here. He was already losing consciousness judging by the way his breathing had evened out and his body had stilled other than his chest. It made sense, he'd been fighting loss of consciousness for a while. I sighed and sat on the edge of the bed, after the forlornness of those shadows…when they so matched his eyes.

I didn't want to leave him alone.

 **End Chapter**

Man, I've done so much work on this one lately. I should be focusing more on college but I've been sort of bleh and unfocused and since I am thinking about this fic and my muse is not being a bitch I thought I might as well put the time in. Next time they'll be on the boat heading to Driscol!

 _-Aura_

To my reviewers:

 _Tigerfur_ – Heh, I do enjoy writing for them both. I should be doing more college but my class is very boring so I'll look at my boring work, then glance at my open word document and think: I'll just write a little more of my dishonored fic…then finish a chapter. Hopefully I'll get some work done today though so the next update might not be as fast XD


	9. Overreach

**Chapter Nine:** **_Overreach_**

 _"There are many stories in endless cultures about it…trying to take what you should not…attempting to get too close to the sun only to have it burn your wings. I've seen many of these stories take shape, I know all too well what happens when people delve too far into powers they aren't prepared for…merely being burned would be a mercy."_

 _Emily –_

"Don't you think you should have told me?" Father was irritated, and normally he could cover that up well when it came to me but I knew this must have really gotten under his skin. I sighed and shook my head with a shrug at him.

"What could I have said that I'm not telling you now? The Outsider passed out after getting injured and now he won't wake up? I was sort of hoping he'd be up by this morning." I answered Corvo's question honestly.

"What good is he to you as a Royal Protector if no one sees him?" He was doing his best to keep his voice level but I knew he was completely against me leaving now. "What if he doesn't wake up on this trip of yours? What will you say then?"

"I'll deal with it. I took care of myself while you were frozen." I pointed out. Of course, my mistake in Delilah's ritual was why we were here but father was kind enough not to immediately point that out, only level me with a dubious stare. "I think he'll be all right."

"You can't know that, you apparently thought he'd wake up. You should have told me about the attack last night, what if more assassins had been waiting to shoot you on the way to the docks this morning?" Eternally the high-protector. Then I suppose he'd been doing this job since before I was born. I wasn't sure how to explain it…I just figured the Outsider would wake when his energy was regenerated.

Not that his lack of wakefulness hadn't given me an interesting morning. I'd fallen asleep next to him, keeping him company or keeping myself company was hard to say. Probably both since I hadn't wanted to leave him alone but I hadn't wanted to be alone either. When I woke, I headed to make the final preparations without him having budged. I expected that he was simply so tired he didn't stir but I didn't make any attempts to wake him then. It was later when I returned that his unconscious became a concern. No matter if I shook him or called to him he didn't move at all.

I could have told Corvo then, but I knew he'd try to cancel everything and it was too late for that. Politically I couldn't cancel this tour, not completely, the birds with letters designating my schedule had already been sent out and calling it off would have been a nightmare. Instead I had snuck The Outsider to the ship, carrying him over a shoulder. It was time consuming but I managed to make it without being seen, often thanks to the very powers he'd given me. Which I discovered worked regardless of his strange sleep. Still, I wasn't sure if that would just prolong his rest so I used them as sparingly as I could afford. It was a small marvel I'd reached the ship without being noticed.

Corvo had come to make final security checks before he would return to work on city rebuilding plans. He'd walked in to me putting the Outsider in the bed of the quarters he was meant to have. The Royal Protector's quarters and my own shared a bathroom so my security guard would always be nearby. That was a convivence in this case since I may need to take care of him. Of course, I had to explain the attack yesterday and that I wanted to continue forward regardless of this development, less easy to do.

"This is quite dangerous. If he doesn't wake before you get to Driscol you have no way of even finding the woman, the one he needs for his spell." Corvo would continue to try and convince me to stay while I tried to convince him it was fine that I go. It was all quite difficult, nothing today was going smoothly.

"He told me enough about her that I will improvise if I must." I answered. "Father, I am going to Driscol and I am leaving today. Imagine how it would look if the trip was cancelled after being announced?"

"Boats are delayed all the time, particularly this time of year. You could postpone by a day or two without anyone judging something amiss." Father had been doing this a long time, he was difficult to put anything past. He was right, a delay wouldn't hurt either…but I shook my head at him all the same.

"Father, trust me." I replied, taking his hands when he looked out the window seemingly trying to decipher another way to convince me otherwise.

"Emily, it isn't you that I don't trust." His gruff voice was slightly more emotional and he squeezed my hands. "I just got you back."

"I know. I know." I answered, my own irritation softening at his gentle side. He was being more father than royal protector, that usually got me to back down. But I couldn't give in this time. "But even if you don't trust the Outsider, he took a bullet for me. I mean, clearly he took what you asked him to do seriously."

"Why are you so intent on leaving now?" He asked.

"It's my mess, and it's a large one. If I don't start cleaning it up I'm not sure I'll get the chance. You know as well as I do that the Outsider doesn't belong here, that we must get him back to the void. That we have to make sure Delilah isn't planning something else." I stated, rambling a little but I was serious. Still, I couldn't tell him the main reason. Before the Outsider had lost consciousness he'd specifically asked about this trip, about leaving today. Not only did it seem a poor omen to ignore that, but I had agreed to take him, I had agreed to leave today. I felt as though I owed it to him to follow up on that without any lies or excuses. It felt like a promise I'd made him.

"I still don't like it but I can't control you. I'm going to have some extra supplies sent to your room though…I want you to be on guard." Father finally backed down at my continued insistence and I breathed out a small sigh, glad that he wasn't going to keep arguing with me. "If he doesn't wake up by the time you reach Driscol…"

"He will." I assured though father had gotten me starting to doubt my opinion. Was there something more to his lack of consciousness? Was it Delilah's doing? I could be walking into some sort of trap – or floating into it in this case. But I couldn't afford to act on that paranoia…any delay could end in our failure.

"If he doesn't, do what you can not to be in public unless you have to." Father finished despite my interruption. Pausing to kiss my forehead before frowning at the unconscious new 'royal protector' on his bed. "I'll tell the guards that he came last night and spent the night also going over security so he'll be resting. It will buy a little time before questions start at least. I'll let them know that you snuck on board as well, it'll keep them on their toes. Don't linger here too long though, they'll need to see you before they'll be willing to leave from the docks. I'd give it about 10 minutes so I can finish my checks."

"Thanks dad." I grinned at the way he rolled his eyes at me before leaving. I would miss him even if it wasn't a long trip. I'd missed him so much during my time away from the palace and I was already leaving him again so soon. Still, if anyone was capable of surviving, of taking care of my throne while I was away, it was my father. I sighed after he left and walked toward the bed. Was I making a horrible mistake? What if father was right, what if the Outsider didn't wake up again?

I put my hand on his pale face. It was cool but not sickly, the exact level of cool one would expect for the boat below decks this time of year. He was still breathing in the same steady way he'd been before I'd lost consciousness next to him the night before. What the hell was keeping him out this long? Was it because of that strange power he'd used? I hadn't told father about the experience, I still wasn't sure I could put it into words without shivering…and that would have kept him from letting me leave for certain. Must all the men in my life be so incredibly difficult?

"Outsider. Outsider." I shook his shoulder hoping he would budge but nothing more happened than some of his Stygian locks fell into his forehead. I sighed and stopped shaking him, reaching up to push the bangs back out of his forehead. Instead, whispering in annoyance at him. "For being so offended for being called a pretender, you sure are good at being just dishonest enough to not technically be a liar. You said you'd be okay by today…if you don't wake up by tonight I'm going to call you a liar forever."

The threat did no more than the shaking had. I pursed my lips, annoyed by the situation. Was I really doing the right thing? I had some information on this witch…I probably could have sent father to get her and kept the Outsider in the vault. But instead I'd insisted on us leaving, soon. I was sitting here next to him hoping he would wake…it was sort of pathetic. I'd missed my chance to tell him that I had feelings for him, the assault had shattered that…I was about to say it and then the blood burst from his shoulder. Had it really done this much damage?

He didn't look like he was in pain though, and when I'd taken off the bandages this morning there wasn't a single mark on his shoulder. Peeking now it was still the same, there was no physical indication of a single thing wrong. I scowled as much at my ineffectiveness as the lack of any clues as to what was causing his unconsciousness. Did he have to be an enigma even when he was sleeping? I heard people above calling out orders and shook my head. Whatever the problem was, I wouldn't be figuring it out right now. I got up and headed out of his room, taking care to lock his door before I headed up to greet the crew putting a pleasant smile on my face so I could properly greet those I needed to and make note of the names of the men here. It was going to be a long day.

 ** _As the day continues…_**

I had spent the afternoon walking about with Captain Mikael Aderson, a middle-aged man with a well-kept if worn beard and uniform. He was no longer military, but he was one of the few ships we could trust with this mission having formerly been a member. My military was too depleted after the coup and defectors. I couldn't take one of our few military vessels on such short notice so we'd used upgrades to his ship with craftsmen built swiftly as part of his payment. His ship was upgraded both inside and out and he would get half of his payment for the service up front an half when the tour was finished. I didn't like having to rely on him but I had little choice.

Despite his somewhat dour appearance a smile had come to his face almost immediately and there were several insistences as to how honored he was to be escorting me and the new royal protector. Then he asked if I'd like a tour and I had accepted. That took much of the day after the ship had left port. Once they were set in a current the Captain had held up his offer of a tour, which apparently meant explaining nearly every device on the ship I wasn't sure about. I knew much more about ship going but I was a bit tired by the time I joined him for dinner in his quarters, which were some of the nicer ones on the ship. Arguably nicer than mine or the Outsiders but I wasn't going to argue.

"It's a real pity the royal protector cannot join us. I expect he must stay quite busy." The Captain turned to polite conversation at dinner. I wasn't sure if I was delighted the discussion of the ship had ended or if I'd miss it having to speak about what was basically unconscious baggage at this point in the trip.

"Yes, it's all been very rushed." I agreed. "I can't blame him. I'm tired as well. I expect I'll sleep well."

"The sea is good at lulling one to rest." The Captain stated, as if to reassure me that I would be fine. I had to admit he had a likable personality other than the obsession with his boat. "I hate to impose on your majesty, but I never learned the Royal Protector's name. I believe since he is new it didn't make it onto most of the papers."

Thankfully I'd just taken a bite of my dinner so I had a moment. Shoot. A name. What was I going to call him in front of everyone else…we had discussed a lot and the need for a code name had come up but we'd never decided on anything specific. Then again, we sort of lost time on detail creation while he was in this strange coma and I was playing nursemaid.

 _Any name, just say any name Emily…_

"Artemus…Wigmund." I managed not to sound too unsure as I said it aloud. "Artemus Wigmund."

 _I'm an idiot…_

Really? What was wrong with me. I'd just given the Outsider one of my art teacher's names I'd had a crush on as a child mixed with a form of Wyman... Well, I suppose he'd have to notice that if he hadn't already realized that I acted strangely around him.

"I haven't heard of him before." The Captain stated thoughtfully. "Then I suppose when Corvo Attano took over for your mother most hadn't known of him either. It seems to be becoming a practice for royal protectors."

I smiled at his joke and took another bite of the fish, which was cooked fairly well. I had to admit the crew had found themselves a fair chef. I was quiet though, I had said I was tired so hopefully the Captain would assume that was the reason. I felt quite stupid but it was too late to go back now. It wasn't like I could just tell someone that I'd forgotten his name and used the wrong one. Artemus Wigmund was what I'd have to call him in public. Ugh. Father would know right away if he heard it. I wanted to crawl back to my room and drink…

"I appreciate all the time you've given this afternoon Captain, but if you'll excuse me. I am feeling quite tired so I believe I'll retire to my quarters." I said politely after wiping my mouth, motioning him to sit when he started to stand as I did. "No sit, sit. This is your ship. Enjoy your meal."

"Have a good evening Empress Kaldwin." The Captain said, returning to his seat at my gesture. "I'll see you on the morrow."

"And you." I offered before I escaped away from the conversation. I was still a bit hungry but I'd eaten most of the meal and I just wanted to get away from him before more questions were asked. I was already making mistakes and I hadn't even had any wine yet. "Sarah, be a dear and run me a bath, I want the water scalding hot."

"Of course, majesty." My attendant for the trip was quick to move at my request and I sat on the edge of my bed, pulling the boots off that I'd worn and glancing to the door of the Outsider's room on the opposite side of our shared bath. It made sense for the royal protector to have their own entry to the Empress' room but I was just a bit frustrated that right now my roommate was nothing more than more decoration.

I could check in on him but I doubted anything would have changed, I expect if he had woken up he would have come looking to find where he was. It was sunset outside the circular window of the ship…and he was still unconscious. I was tempted to throw him in the water when it was ready.

I finished taking off my boots and took my scarf off next, folding it neatly and setting it on the vanity in my quarters. My coat followed, I was starting to form a neat pile. I had gotten used to caring for my own things in the months while I was on the Dreadful Wale with Meagan. I heard the water running as the attendant returned to my room.

"Should I set out some clothes for you, your highness?" She asked.

"No, I'll attend to it in a moment. Please get me a bottle of wine and leave it near the bed. After that you may go and get dinner and rest for the evening." I said, not too surprised by her hesitation. New attendants were never sure what to expect from me. She stared a moment longer but thought better of arguing so she nodded and closed my door on the way out of the room. I headed to the bathroom, smirking after I checked the water. It still wasn't as hot as I liked it so I had to turn it up…something else I was used to with new attendants. I guess it wouldn't do to burn your employer on your first day.

I glanced over the variety of perfumes and soaps they had on a shelf…trying a few before setting one next to the tub. I set out some new clothes, went to get the bottle of wine I'd heard my attendant deliver, finished getting undressed and got in. It was the first moment I had felt relaxed all day. I shouldn't have been surprised at that exact thought the back of my hand began to burn…the complex arcane mark the outsider had given me glowing at the painful sensation. I could hear movement in his room and muttering in a language I didn't recognize…

 _The Outsider –_

The island…

I knew it well.

I'd visited it only from time to time…but that concept adds up to a high number over several thousand years. The edge of the void that had captured the view of my rebirth. The hooded figures that had been both architect and demolitionist to the Outsider – captured for centuries in stone. I often came here when I gave my mark to mortals, reminding myself what the abuse of power looked like. But why was I seeing it now? How had I even gotten to the void? My connection to it felt muted, far away, as though despite seeing it, I wasn't there…not as I should be…

"I understand now…please…I don't want it…"

The voice drew my eyes toward the back of the alter, a thin woman with her arms curled around her knees rocking so slightly I hadn't noticed her before. I didn't walk closer…in the void I didn't need to…I broke apart and simply reformed near the area I wished to see. That much I could still do here…it came so naturally even if I was and wasn't there at the same time…my eyes widened slightly at what I saw…

Delilah…curled up on herself, continuing to mutter as she rocked, holding her knees.

"I don't want it." She repeated, sounding nothing as I remembered her. The confidence had been replaced by grief-stricken madness… "I don't want it. Please, I understand now…take it away. Take it away! I don't want it."

She wasn't speaking to me. But I was certain she'd somehow called me here. Who else could have? Unless it was simply the void pushing out of bounds to show this to me. Even without my presence to focus it, it acted on its own from time to time. Delilah must have realized she was in a fake reality and come here looking to claim more of me, to absorb my power. Yet…she was undoubtedly found wanting. The prize she sought with such vigor had led to her downfall…

"I don't want it!" She cried out suddenly, screaming upward as she pounded her fists into the alter behind her. Black tears ran down her face, her eyes different than before. She had taken enough to have the same blackened gaze I did. She noticed me for the first time. "You…"

She scrambled backward, away from me as if I were going to kill her but I didn't move. This was perhaps the most interesting thing I'd seen in ages, just what was the void doing?

"You…" She relaxed when I didn't attack her, but still rubbed her arms as if trying to banish a chill that refused to leave. "You are here? But…you aren't here…"

"Perpetually." I answered, a sardonic amusement entering my voice. "You seem to have succeeded Delilah…you've gotten more of the void…it seems you could take more power if you liked. After all that trouble, you've given up on the plan? Are you not enjoying it?"

"Get it out…get it out of me…" She grasped at my hands, shaking them before falling to her knees. The shadows ran through her, out of her…they were the black tears down her face when she began to cry. "It…all of it…I don't want it! I don't want it! Take it back! I waited, I waited here…this was where it started…where it always started. You…this was you…not me. Never me. I don't want it…I don't want this…but you're here now. You're back…you can…stop…punishing me…I'm sorry. I'm sorry."

Her begging broke off as she sobbed, pressing her face into my leg. The girl that had caused so much of this trouble in her search for power. She'd climbed to her goal over a river blood and built her ladder from bodies…all for her desire to claim my power…and when she received this much…when she truly saw the void…it had broken her. After her entire life, when most of her days had threatened to crush her but only formed her into a diamond…the void had left her dust.

It would have been better if she had died…

Yet, I hadn't been inside the void. I wasn't the one using any sort of power to punish her. The most amusing part was that she was punishing herself. I remembered the early years of my life now…how painful the loneliness was…but I'd always been alone even in life. Where for all her claims of not having power…Delilah was almost never alone in her years, she'd always had people around her. Perhaps she had no idea how much she'd grown to rely on her ability to manipulate others, but in the void, there was no one to manipulate, and certainly no one to worship her as so many had in her real life.

"Delilah…" My voice seemed to get her to control her unstable emotions enough to sniffle and look up at me, her cheeks a mess of dark tears. "The ritual will take time."

"I know…I know...you aren't here yet. You are, you aren't. I don't want this…please. I'll wait…take it. Take it all back. I understand…" She spoke in the same broken way as before, letting go of me to curl her arms around her knees again to start rocking. "My time…it's not up. It should have been, but then wasn't…I don't want it. Please…take it. Not now…you can't now…but steal it back from me. End my clock…wont' you end it? Please…promise me you'll end it…I won't take anymore of you…I can't. I don't want it. Just say it! …that it will be over…"

Was I looking at what I could have become? What I might still become in the future?

In my case the power had awakened quickly, the nothingness was set aside easily enough when I could distract myself with the timeless knowledge of the void…but since she was trying to siphon my essence her powers were only weak mimicked versions of mine. With the void locked off she could see nothing…and lacked any form of outlet. She was trapped here while I'd been trapped in the real world…it had been exceptionally little time there but it had been eternity for her here. An eternity of waiting for me to end it…

"It'll end yes, it all is disappearing…so you'll fix it…you'll have to come back. You'll have to take it. Take it! I don't want it!" She insisted, jumping up again and grabbing my shoulders to shake me with far more vigor than the first time.

With me in the real world and the void locked away…it was simply reverting to nothing...this was the only island I could see. Lacking connection to the real world to form echoes of any other places, the void only had my memory left…even her own connections had ebbed away sometime since the ritual. In the end…Delilah was not nearly as strong as she'd hoped. A part of me was disappointed in her failure…another was just as glad that she intended to return the pieces of me she had taken.

"Please…tell me…will it always be this…forever?" She got close enough to be staring into my face, her dark gaze was quite close to empty…it held only madness in its depths. I thought to tell her it was her fate, it was what she deserved…but I didn't.

I pitied her.

"No, it will not always be this way. It will take a long time…but I will take back what is mine." I answered. I'd reached up to touch her but drew back after barely brushing the back of my fingers across her cheek. When she'd reached out to me nothing had happened but when I did the same it burned. So much of my spirit wanted to return to me. To its rightful place. Even without the ritual it was trying to escape her by burning her flesh…but here…that meant nothing.

She didn't even do more than wince at the pain, and her face was grateful as opposed to twisted in agony even with her cheek burning a bright orange beneath the lines of liquid darkness. I realized then for certain that she had summoned me here…that perhaps she'd been trying to summon me here since she first had taken more power but found out she was jailed in the void. Yet, as things were, her power was still my power…how much had she burned through just to make this desperate plea? I didn't get the chance to ask, for a moment later the void was gone and I was aware of nothing.

 **End Chapter**

Delilah is such a non-relatable villain for me. There was pretty much nothing about her story that made me feel bad for her since she used bad things that happened to her to just promote the cycle of abuse. I hated that for the low chaos ending she got to just go and live happily ever after. So, I decided to punish her a bit more for her transgressions XD. Also I got some of my work done so I decided to write more even though I was gonna wait so I wouldn't burn out…I'm sure anyone reading doesn't mind.

- _Aura_

To my reviewers:

Connor – Uh thanks I think? I've just been into it. My muse gets that way sometimes.

Tigerfur – Heh right? You'll still get to see more reactions yet…

The Whispering Sage – Thank you very much, I hope you keep enjoying it!


	10. Affection

**Chapter Ten:** **_Affection_**

 _"It is a strange thing how quickly one's heart can turn toward affection. How fondness can blossom into devotion. Some would label this nothing more than a scientific need to extend the species…but most so quick to state such are either jaded or lack any spiritual understanding. How can fervor to the point of ignoring self-interest and all logical sense of survival be a mechanism of that very survival? Passion, the very enthusiasm of actual love, proves such a concept is forfeit of truth…"_

 _The Outsider –_

Warmth.

It was the opposite of what I expected to feel after my unexpected visit to the void and then the blank slate of sleep. I was exceptionally groggy but I knew my body was moving slightly, as if I were still in the void, floating while remaining slightly physical. On second thought…it was not just warm…it was hot. Not uncomfortably so…but at the same time…it was all a series of sensations I had not grown used to in the other times I'd woken from my slumbers. It didn't even smell like the vault.

Was I somewhere else entirely then?

Exhausted. That I was without question, so much so that I wasn't entirely concerned with where I was now. If my body hadn't protested at an accidental attempt to breath water, I probably would have just gone back to sleep. Instead the warmth became a burn in my chest as I started to cough up liquid and pulled myself from the hot water I realized I was in. I blinked at the small room where I was now, it wasn't somewhere I'd been before.

Emily was nearby with her hands on her hips, watching me as I continued to cough. Dressed in a long smooth robe as opposed to her usual multipurpose but highborn attire. This was not the room at her castle…and it was moving. We were already on the boat and I was in…a bathtub. My clothes still very much on, and very much soaked. Unlike our time in the storm they had not stayed dry from me being submerged completely.

"Finally, if I would have known tossing you in the tub was going to wake you I'd have done it much sooner." Emily remarked, still scowling as she leaned down to press her hand into my forehead. The bottom of her robe was wet, water that had splashed out?

I blinked at her again, still not fully awake as I tried to decipher the situation. Why was she wet?

"I see I missed the boat's departure." I remarked, a bit amused at the way her eye twitched in irritation at my obvious observation. Whatever questions I asked I expected I would get an answer to what had happened while I was unconscious. "Why am I still wearing my clothes? I was fairly certain one undressed to bathe."

"You wouldn't wake up…it's been almost twenty-four hours since you went to sleep." She stated, a fact that appeared to frustrate her. "A moment ago, the mark started burning and when I checked on you…you were ice cold. I was worried you were dead until I saw you breathing."

"So, you threw me in the bath?" I rubbed my face as I tried to make sense of where I was. I certainly hadn't missed almost an entire day even when I had been mortal. It didn't help that I still felt drained...perhaps the void wasn't totally locked off but crossing into it even for a short time left me feeling weak. I hadn't made a motion to get up out of the water after all.

"You were freezing…colder than any dead body I've touched…and I didn't know what else to do. It worked, didn't it?" Emily asked, touching my arms as if trying to make sure I wasn't still this icicle she was describing. "You don't still feel cold."

"I'm not." I assured. I had always presumed the void had a sense of humor separate from me being a part of it…but now I was convinced. "Though I wouldn't say I'm comfortable…I am still quite tired."

"Don't fall asleep again. What happened?" She hissed at me, shaking my arm slightly when I closed my eyes. "This isn't just because of yesterday. You were sleeping sure but you looked all right. After the mark burned you were so cold, and your face is drawn. Your eyes have deeper circles. It's like you didn't get any rest at all, if anything you look worse than you did when you fell asleep."

"I was pulled into the void." I answered after her tirade, it was clear she'd been concerned for me. I still didn't make a motion to get out of the bathtub, it was sort of nice to have the heated water around me as I discussed what happened. Then, I still didn't want to move either. "Delilah called me there…but don't worry, she's not the problem she was."

"What? What does that mean? Now isn't really the time for riddles…" Her cross concern brought a slight raise to my lips. For all her irritation, I appreciated that she worried for me.

"Delilah took more of the void into herself these last few days." I explained. "It was too much for her. Particularly since the way she stole it in the first place was corrupted. Whoever she was before then, it's gone now. The void has destroyed her mind…she wanted me to take the power back…to fix all of this so she no longer had it."

"But that would kill her…that doesn't sound like her." Emily remarked, her brows furrowing at my description even when it was straightforward. "Could it have been just a dream or nightmare?"

"It wasn't." I shook my head once negatively at the concept. "We need to complete the ritual to return things to normal as soon as possible."

"Why? What else? You said Delilah was the threat before, but there's something more wrong." She was good at reading between the lines. Then, I wasn't exactly trying to hide anything now.

"The void is disappearing; my absence is somehow eating away at it." I answered her. "I wish I knew why, but I don't. I simply know it would be wisest to return things to the way they were."

Emily nodded. She clearly already intended to help but it seemed a fair trade to give her the request of honesty, considering she'd been safeguarding me and still taken me on this trip when she couldn't know when I'd wake. She looked exhausted as well, not as much as I felt it but enough that I felt a bit of guilt for adding to her many stresses. My intention of avoiding guilt wasn't working out, opposed to what I'd hoped for I was getting good at feeling it.

"And Delilah?" Emily asked.

"She remains trapped until the ritual is complete, then she'll be put to rest." I answered, leaving it at that. Emily would know the overall meaning well enough. "But first we must reach our destination…"

I had finally stood, I had the power to dry myself as I left the tub but even that small use of power left me wavering. Emily moved to support me, steadying me after putting one of my arms over her shoulder. She helped me back to the bed I supposed I must have slept in all day but didn't remember…and then sat next to me when I lay down. "I must apologize. After I agreed to look after you, it seems you are the one playing protector…"

"It's fine…I'm just glad you are all right." Emily answered, taking my left hand and squeezing it before she picked up a towel. I heard her moving to wet it as I closed my eyes, already my body was showing the need for rest. The powers I had access to, the energy used in the void…it wasn't really meant for a physical body. I watched Emily fixing the bed, straightening it out and pulling covers over me.

"You don't need to take care of me." I pointed out. "My body will adjust with time. Besides, I won't be here long."

"That doesn't mean you shouldn't be comfortable." She retorted as she looked at me. Our faces were close. She was staring at my eyes again. I expected her to be afraid after she had experienced part of what I was, to remain afraid. Yet, she wasn't. Then the last day or so flashed through my mind. Her resting to next to me, carrying me here, arguing with her father or scolding me when I couldn't answer. I was a bit surprised by the flow of information and certainly couldn't decipher it all but something was clear all the same, how much she'd taken the time to stay near me when she could…she'd seen a piece of me, seen the void…and opposite what anyone else would do she not only failed to run, she seemed intent to keep me company…

It may have been that. The fact that this girl had managed to make me feel as though I wasn't alone for the first true time in millennia…then perhaps I'd known that she wouldn't back down and it was simply a delight to have the interest of someone that knew more than any other what I was. Perhaps it was simply her being in different clothing, or that she was tired. Maybe it was just the fact that she was taking the time to safeguard me, to do the small things no one had ever done. Whatever the cause, I was convinced that Emily Kaldwin was the most beautiful thing in any realm. I didn't think about it when I reached up, there was no consideration spared for the consequence of my actions. I only knew I wanted to touch her, to be closer to her after she'd taken care of me. I cupped her cheek, not disappointed by the reaction. The red on her face was almost immediately obvious, as was the warmth under my fingers.

I pulled her face closer to mine gently, I doubted I could have forced her if she hadn't let me. Then touched her lips with mine for just a fraction of a second before she backed up…I certainly wouldn't have let her escape had it been in my power. She looked so shocked, and seemed as if she wanted to speak twice before closing her mouth, unable to form what she wanted to say. I smiled lightly at her embarrassed confusion. There was much I wanted to say as well, to explain to her…

"Thank you."

The only two words I managed before I lost consciousness again.

 _Emily –_

I only had time to throw on one of the robes in my bags before rushing to his room. The Outsider was still unconscious but when I touched him he was cold. Not just chill…but like ice…his entire room was the same minus the temperature. There was even a bit of frost on his window. For a moment, I was worried that he'd died here, that this ship would suffer some strange death throws…but then he took a breath. I stared at his chest moving, frowning at the cold in the room while my hand still burned and glowed, as if in painful reply to whatever was happening.

I picked him up, it wasn't the first time I'd had to lift him but he seemed somehow heavier than that morning…but perhaps that was just the chill or my fear over not knowing what was happening. I tossed him in the bathtub, ignoring the water that splashed free onto the feet of my robes even if it was a stark change in temperature. I watched as his body didn't move, scowling at the lack of response even to this. I was about to step forward and pull him back out when his head shifted beneath the water but he began to cough.

He was awake. I felt a small wave of relief, then that was washed away by my annoyance…what the hell was going on? He didn't make a motion to speak, instead glancing about the room as if trying to figure out where he was. I guess it was fair given I'd moved him from where he fell asleep by quite a margain but somehow seeing the Outsider so out of sorts inspired anxiety. I leaned down to check his forehead, relieved when he wasn't still icy to the touch.

"Finally, if I would have known tossing you in the tub was going to wake you I'd have done it much sooner." I remarked, somehow placated but perplexed at his sudden consciousness.

"I see I missed the boat's departure." His ability to be sardonic even now was a relief since I figured he had to be all right if he was reverting immediately to sarcasm. "Why am I still wearing my clothes? I was fairly certain one undressed to bathe."

Then again, I could have gone without the attitude.

"You wouldn't wake up…it's been almost twenty-four hours since you went to sleep." I stated in as even a voice as I could. I refused to cry, I'd rather be angry. "A moment ago, the mark started burning and when I checked on you…you were ice cold. I was worried you were dead until I saw you breathing."

"So, you threw me in the bath?" He sounded a bit contrite, reaching up to rub his face, he still looked drained despite all the sleep, as if some part of him was used up. He hadn't made a motion to get out of the tub even though he sounded insulted by being there. Perhaps he wasn't as fine as I first thought…

"You were freezing…colder than any dead body I've touched…and I didn't know what else to do. It worked, didn't it?" I meant the question as a hypothetical and thankfully he didn't answer it. I felt his arms to make sure he was not still frigid as he'd been. "You don't still feel cold."

"I'm not." He assured, sounding as if he didn't know how to feel about this. I guess I couldn't blame him. I doubted that even in 4000 years he'd woken up quite like this before. "Though I wouldn't say I'm comfortable…I am still quite tired."

"Don't fall asleep again. What happened?" I hissed, marking my words by shaking his arm when he closed his eyes. I couldn't take him just falling back to sleep without telling me what was happening. "This isn't just because of yesterday. You were sleeping sure but you looked all right until just now. After the mark burned you were so cold, and your face is drawn. Your eyes have deeper circles. It's like you didn't get any rest at all, if anything you look worse than you did when you fell asleep."

"I was pulled into the void." He remarked, still not opening his eyes despite the fact I'd told him not to go to sleep. But at least he was answering, even if we were having this conversation in a strange place it was better than not having it at all. "Delilah called me there…but don't worry, she's not the problem she was."

Delilah? My heart dropped even with his immediate reassurance, she felt like a threat to me. Perhaps the Outsider was right, I should have simply killed her instead of trying to mess with forces I didn't understand at all…

"What? What does that mean? Now isn't really the time for riddles…" I wanted to strangle him but I knew that wouldn't help, he already looked so drained…and would it even mean anything if I did? Probably not…he'd probably just fall asleep again…

"Delilah took more of the void into herself these last few days." He explained in a groggy voice. "It was too much for her. Particularly since the way she stole it in the first place was corrupted. Whoever she was before then, it's gone now. The void has destroyed her mind…she wanted me to take the power back…to fix all of this so she no longer had it."

"But that would kill her…that doesn't sound like her." I noted, confused at the description. Even when he was explaining in a way I could understand somewhat without trying to be cryptic was only when the topic was confusing… "Could it have been just a dream or nightmare?"

"It wasn't." He immediately dismissed the idea. "We need to complete the ritual to return things to normal as soon as possible."

"Why? What else? You said Delilah was the threat before, but there's something more wrong." I knew he wouldn't stress such an importance if there wasn't a reason for it.

"The void is disappearing; my absence is somehow eating away at it." His answer only inspired more questions. How could the void disappear? Was it even there to begin with? Didn't he say it wasn't actually a place? More like some sort of entity…not unlike himself…and he was a part of it. If it disappeared would he go with it? He seemed to realize I was confused, he'd opened back up his eyes to look at me at some point – even if they were only half-lidded. "I wish I knew why, but I don't. I simply know it would be wisest to return things to the way they were."

I nodded. I was glad I had fought with father, somehow this seemed even more dire than just Delilah being a threat. Still, he hadn't said she was gone…

"And Delilah?" I asked.

"She remains trapped until the ritual is complete, then she'll be put to rest." He answered, moving his arms for the first time to stand out of the water. "But first we must reach our destination…"

He did stand, he even got out of the tub, the water draining off him and his clothes into the bath as though it had never soaked into the cloth in the first place. Which would have been impressive if he didn't immediately start to stumble and I had to play crutch. Obviously…whatever Delilah had done to summon him across this separation had cost him a lot. Was she just calling on his power the entire time? I ignored the way the Outsider was scanning me as I helped him back to his bed.

"I must apologize. After I agreed to look after you, it seems you are the one playing protector…" He stated after I got him lying on the bed again.

"It's fine…I'm just glad you are all right." I shrugged at the idea…but took his hand to squeeze it gently before moving to look after him. He'd gone from chilled to warm. I went to wet the towel in the sink with cooler water, wringing it out and bringing it back. His breathing had already slowed and his eyes were closed. Whatever was going on, it was clear that having a real body wasn't what the Outsider was supposed to have. I reached over him to pull the blanket up, straightening it out.

"You don't need to take care of me." He said lightly, voice thick with tired. "My body will adjust with time. Besides, I won't be here long."

What could I do but take care of him in this way? Was that his way of letting me know subtly that no matter how I looked after him he couldn't return my affection?

"That doesn't mean you shouldn't be comfortable." I answered seriously. Glancing to his face after I had the blanket straight. I was still leaning nearby so it was a mistake. We were close, nearer to each other than when I'd been ready to confess to him on the balcony. His eyes still drew me in…I couldn't help it. Watching him I felt as if I were falling, and for all my subconscious' protests I enjoyed falling. Besides, he was staring back at me. What if all I had were these moments where all we did was watch each other…once he was gone he may never return to visit me again after all?

Then he touched my cheek. I blushed at the contact, surprised as much at the gesture as I was by his ability to be so gentle. When he pulled me, closer I didn't resist, not until our lips began to touch did the inner empress in me rail and I backed away. I did want this…want him…but what more was there to it? What could possibly come from it? I tried to say something, my mouth open and working a moment before I realized I had no idea how to express it. This wasn't exactly something gone over in my lessons.

He smiled at my flustered reply, did he always have to be amused at me in my most vulnerable moments? He seemed ready to speak instead and I was eager to hear what it was he had to express.

"Thank you." Was all he said before he fell unconscious. The hand that had been holding my cheek a moment before returned to the bed, he was again gone to the world and to me.

"Outsider?" I whispered, hoping it would return him. Yet, I heard nothing but what was now becoming the steady rise and fall of his breath. I took and let out a long sigh of my own, setting my head on the edge of the bed as I sank down next to it. I knew my face was still on fire as I buried it in the side of his mattress. What was that just now exactly?

 **End Chapter**

Fluffy. My chapters feel to me as they may be too long, so I hope they aren't for someone reading through. I felt like some fluff was needed, and from what I have in mind next chapter will be more fluff…so I hope people don't mind. Between Technical Writing Class (dear god boredom) and my fic all I've done all week is write. I guess all the dullness of class has made my muse rise up in protest XD

 _-Aura_

To my reviewers:

Whispering Sage – Yeah, had she not been so horrible I may have felt a little bad but I couldn't since she was such a monster herself.

Tiger fur – Thank you. I have plans…and lol, glad you found the name funny. The Outsider hasn't gotten to hear his moniker yet.


	11. Absolutes

**Chapter Eleven:** **_Absolutes_**

 _"That is the issue then, that when it comes to love…there are certainly absolutes…but none that a logical mind not sharing the affection can fully comprehend. It is in fact, difficult even for those wearing the rosy glasses to explain the pink suddenly infused in their world. Yet, while it may be a struggle to define love in words…there is little left to doubt in those few lucky enough to experience it."_

 _Emily –_

The morning was gray, the ship plodding along through a fog that made it difficult to make out anything along the ocean's waves. Even the water seemed darker than it should as the boat cut through the liquid making its way toward Driscol. It was cold…colder than it had been and while I knew to expect that when traveling north it still reminded me of the chill that had overtaken the Outsider the night before. He'd told me that the void was disappearing in his absence. This morning it looked as if it was coming through the Outsider into my world with the black waves and dense fog…with only our boat as an island in the monochrome lack of landscape. Hadn't he explained once before about the void leaking through a pinprick in reality? Was that happening again?

"I am sorry to hear the Royal Protector is ill, don't hear of much seasickness on the isles but there are always a few men that never grow sea legs." The Captain remarked as he stepped up next to me. It was the only excuse I could think of that morning when the attendants asked about him. I was afraid to let them too close to him…with him still being unconscious he wasn't wearing the disguise Sokolov had made and I didn't want any of them to see his eyes if he suddenly woke.

"I don't envy him." I didn't have to lie in that statement. For all I'd been through I wouldn't want the Outsider's existence. I didn't keep up the conversation, still looking out, trying to pick out anything in the fog and water around us. I felt trapped on this boat when I couldn't see more than a few dozen feet beyond its walls. What more could I say about the Outsider anyway? I couldn't let on that I was worried about him without it being a threat to my security and my image. As it was I knew there were already whispers about this mysterious 'Artemus Wigmund' and how he wasn't much of a Royal Protector and that didn't help. I hadn't even had a chance to tell him he had a code name.

Then there was the kiss…

It was short, exceedingly so…but I'd certainly dwelled on it for much of the night and morning. Only one of us was getting any real rest, and I didn't even know if it would help the Outsider. Would he just wake again worse than before? Per the crew, we would arrive late this evening…what excuse would I use if he still wasn't conscious? I could see Corvo in the back of my mind silently shaking his head at my insistence to come here. Then again…if he'd have just remained unconscious in the capital what good would waiting have done?

The Outsider was a wholly unfair creature.

That much was obvious. In all our time together he'd done marvelous things but he'd never explained them well, and at times forced me to make decisions I didn't wish to. He'd given me my mother for a time…no matter in how gruesome a way I had appreciated her voice while I fought for my crown. Yet, when he had handed her over he knew I'd have to let go of her to destroy Delilah. I didn't hate him for it, if anything to a point I appreciated that I'd gotten to have some measure of closure and hear her voice one last time. That was the problem…even when what he did seemed so horrible…in the end I couldn't hate him for it.

I got the feeling much of what he influenced wasn't as neutral or dark as father and the general populace believed. So, what would happen were he to disappear and someone else take his place? Some new person that became a part of the void? Clearly the void had some requirements if it had destroyed someone as willful as Delilah…but if someone like her…more willing to abuse their abilities took the Outsiders power. I didn't doubt that the world be worse if the void became a part of someone else. Worse still, if his being here somehow combined the real world and the void…I had to think beyond Dunwall, or being the Empress. The entire world would suffer if that happened…

With or without the Outsider, I had to find this Bethany he'd mentioned and bring her back. I had to return things to the right order. But what then?

I walked away from the chill of the winds on the ships bow, wandering a while and lost in thought. I was restless and I felt so. It was only after I'd already wandered a long while and eaten a quiet early dinner that I returned to my room. I had to at least let people see me after all but I wanted to be away from them. I lay on my bed, putting one arm over my eyes and setting the opposite hand on my chest. I was unable to banish the fleeting sensation of his lips brushing mine - so light they could have been the shadows of the void.

He'd kissed me…he'd initiated it…not that I hadn't wanted it but I was nervous about what it meant. What would we even be? The shadowed Outsider and a young Empress whose empire was falling apart? I was so little compared to him…not lesser, just…shorter. My time here was a drop in the black oceans outside compared to his…was my even wanting him just selfish?

Or simply silly…was this just him paying me back for helping him? He had only thanked me after all…he hadn't expressed any sort of feelings…maybe I was reading too much into it. I sighed, this boat and the Outsider were going to drive me mad…at least I had other things I could have distracted myself with at the palace. Here I'd already finished my paperwork and I couldn't exactly go running over the cities rooftops to escape…

I never did well having to wait…no matter how much my teachers tried to make me patient it wasn't a virtue that came easily. I sighed and pushed myself up walking back across our shared bathroom to the 'Royal Protector's' quarters. He was there, still passed out as he'd been all but a few minutes yesterday. I sat down next to his bed, sighing again. It wasn't like me to fret like this…but then I hadn't had to deal with this before…who could say they had? I was certain a physical outsider was a first all around.

"You could actually wake up…" I murmured in frustration without looking at him. "This was your idea and we need time to discuss our plans before we arrive. This isn't how this was supposed to go."

I couldn't bring myself to mention our kiss, even while he was unconscious…what if he heard it somehow? It wasn't that I was overly girlish about such things, not normally – I'd had many paramours without being one of those girls that would 'die of embarrassment' but none of my previous lovers had been basically gods and none of them had been able to hypnotize me with a simple glance.

I didn't want to have feelings for him but I wondered if all the women he put a mark on felt this way. Had Delilah been attached to him as well? She'd started with his favor after all...did her hand burn the way it did for me when she'd used her powers? At some point in her long plans and games had she blushed or demurred because of his attention? I supposed thinking any contrary was silly, certainly at some point Delilah must have felt special with her connection to the Outsider. But I doubted it was the same…

Delilah had used her connection to abuse him…to try and steal power from him. I doubted that she had any real feelings for him beyond possibly attraction. One didn't just try to take over the position of anyone they cared about, it was the same when she lied about having had any feeling for my mother or me. I leaned my head back on the mattress to look at the ceiling of the room, watching the light sway of the lamp with the movement of the boat on the ocean. Then there was the Outsider…he'd spoken well of Delilah…he'd sought her out and offered her his mark. Me…

The first time we met he explained that we were never really supposed to meet. It was only after Delilah stole part of him that he contacted me. Certainly, he'd helped Corvo, and he'd shared his mark with my father but he had never planned to share it with me. I was just a convivence that ended up causing problems when I got the mark and threw a wrench in the natural order. I hated how much I was never actually supposed to be here…

"You seem disturbed." The light voice drew my eyes to the Outsider. He was looking at me, and his face wasn't as drawn as it had been before. He looked as normal as he ever did…and certainly had come back to consciousness without the grogginess of the night before. I hadn't noticed him move but he was on his side, propped on an elbow watching me.

"It's been a rough few days." I stated, of course he'd choose to wake up now. I had so much I wanted to discuss only a few minutes ago, but then he'd stayed asleep just long enough to make me second guess all of this. Still, I at least could press forward with our plan. "We should talk about Driscol. We should be arriving this evening. I had to tell the crew something about you though."

He perked a brow at me, not needing to ask the question.

After a moment of hesitation, I stated, "I told the rest of the crew that you've been sea sick."

"An understandable story." He nodded at the information. "What other details should I know?"

Ugh. Why was I so embarrassed? I hated that as well.

"I gave you a fake name. I would have discussed it with you but I couldn't. Artemus Wigmund." I stated with more neutrality than I thought possible. Pressing immediately onward in hopes he wouldn't notice the place the names had in my life. "I'm glad you woke up. I'll need you to actually escort me off the boat so people see I have a security detail of some sort. They'll need to know that you exist, there are already rumors that you are poor at the job."

"Emily." He leaned closer on the bed and I lifted my head to turn toward him. I wanted to back away…but I hesitated, it was difficult to retreat from something you longed for no matter how much trepidation you should feel for it. He stopped while still being near me, close but paused when he spoke more than my name. "What am I to you? You've gone well above the terms of our agreement."

I swallowed, my mouth suddenly dry as he pressed right into the heart of what was making me uncomfortable. What was he to me? "I don't know how to answer that."

"No?" That semi-sarcastic smile came to his face that I'd grown to hate and admire…I did both in that moment, all at the same time. Perhaps it was the paradox of him that I had such a fondness for, the fact that unlike anyone else I could never fully figure him out… "Then perhaps I should rephrase. What do you want from me?"

"I don't know how to answer that either." I stated, frustrated with myself and his questions. "I should be asking you the same thing. You said that you never meant to meet me. What am I to you then? What do you want from me other than help with the ritual?"

"What are you willing to give?" The mysterious echo of his voice blended so well with the mystic nature of his gaze, he was everything and nothing all at once.

"What are you?" I replied immediately. He was close to me…so close…but he didn't reach out to me as he did with the kiss. Instead…he all but bled confidence. I realized he was waiting for me to remove that distance. I was certain of it.

I was an empress, I was to be the one that was followed, not the one that followed someone else. Still, I was also just a human, just a girl…and I was certain the boy I liked wanted me to kiss him back…

When our lips met a second time, I was the one that pressed mine against his, and the contact wasn't nearly so brief as the first.

 _The Outsider –_

She was nearby, again…she'd been there when I'd lost consciousness, and she was still when I regained it. Though she had moved. She wasn't seated on the bed but next to it. She was watching the ceiling, having been muttering in frustration a moment before. I propped myself up on an elbow before I spoke up. "You seem disturbed?"

"It's been a rough few days." Emily answered, letting out a slightly bitter laugh as she looked at me. "We should talk about Driscol. We should be arriving this evening. I had to tell the crew something about you though."

All I had to do was raise a brow.

"I told the rest of the crew that you've been sea sick." She stated after a long enough silence that I could tell there was more to it.

"An understandable story." I nodded at the information, after all she needed some reason why I hadn't been out with her on the ship. "What other details should I know?"

Did she just wince slightly?

"I gave you a fake name. I would have discussed it with you but I couldn't. Artemus Wigmund." She said in a measured tone but continued quickly. "I'm glad you woke up. I'll need you to actually escort me off the boat so people see I have a security detail of some sort. They'll need to know that you exist, there are already rumors that you are poor at the job."

I was finally rejuvenated, though it had taken longer than I would like it seemed our trip ended up serving my need to rest. Of course, I realized as I watched her that she was still concerned about me, but also about when I'd thanked her. She could be a pillar of strength, but something about me made her uncertain of herself.

"Emily." I readjusted on the bed so I was closer to her. Stopping near her face but not repeating the motion I'd made before I'd fallen asleep. There was a lot I wished to know about her, about what she wanted, I suppose it was selfish but I wanted her to say it aloud even if I could already guess. "What am I to you? You've gone well above the terms of our agreement."

She swallowed but she didn't look away, for as much as she might grow nervous near me, she didn't seem willing to run away. She finally let out a small negative shake of her head. "I don't know how to answer that."

"No?" I was tempted to grin at her. I expected there was much she could say but wasn't willing to. "Then perhaps I should rephrase. What do you want from me?"

"I don't know how to answer that either." She said almost immediately. "I should be asking you the same thing. You said that you never meant to meet me. What am I to you then? Am I just some convivence gone wrong? What do you want from me other than help with the ritual?"

"What are you willing to give?" I replied to her string of questions with one of my own.

"What are you?" She challenged immediately. She stared at me…but I waited, I'd shown her that I felt something, perhaps it had been while I was disoriented but I refused to regret it now. Would she return the same? I wasn't certain. For all the things, I did know, for all the parts of the world I could see I had never had more than tiny glimpses of my own future. Perhaps that's why she was so difficult to read…perhaps she was tied to me by more than the mark. I had to admit, despite what I had guessed as to her feelings I was still surprised when she leaned up and kissed me, though far be it for me to reject her. I craved her touch as much as I could remember wanting anything…

It was a blissful moment, one I would remember well for centuries to come. This uncertain girl had offered me something I wasn't sure I'd even possessed when I was alive. For the first time in millennia I felt satisfied, as if I were not alone…and more than that I yearned for her. Even in something so simple as a drawn-out kiss I knew whatever Emily Kaldwin was…it was far from a mere convivence. It wasn't just the kiss, though that was far from something I would complain about, it was the acceptance. She had seen as much of what I was as she could safely, but she wanted me all the same…

"Anything." I whispered when we broke apart, each breathing heavier after the contact. She again looked surprised at my remark. She moved to get up, I thought a moment she may flee but instead she sat next to me on the bed and I relaxed from that temporary anxiety. I pulled her to her side so I could hold her, amused that she didn't look at me…I could see even from the side that her face was flushed but I didn't point it out, instead I was quite content to simply be near her, to have her scent and warmth suffuse the air around me.

She was quiet, as was I, for a long time. She made no other motion to touch me other than to set one of her hands over the arm I'd put around her. She was silent a long time, but it wasn't unpleasant, not for me. I let her have her time, I waited. One got quite good with patience when you'd lived as long as I had.

"Then you know my answer is the same." She said quietly, so much so that had I been a normal mortal I doubt I could have heard it. I smiled at the rather intimate admission, it must have been difficult for her…even towhisper it so lightly. I could accept that she couldn't quite look at me while she muttered the words, it was pleasing that she said them at all. I kissed the back of her head, feeling the softness of her hair with my nose. I felt her relax after having said it, as though it allowed her to finally rest herself. How little sleep had she gotten while looking after me? I was more than happy to let her sleep now…the rest could come in time.

I wonder if she knew how much even this meant? That she trusted me to the point that she would willingly sleep next to me knowing what I was. I knew this wasn't an easy thing…that this closeness we shared would be wrought with difficulties…but I had the luxury, for at least a short time…not to care. So, I let myself indulge while I had the chance to…I spent the time that she rested doing what I could to commit this so fully to memory that even the void wouldn't destroy it.

 **End Chapter**

Fluff. So much fluff. I hope it's not too much. It is hard to tell sometimes…but I figured it made sense what with Emily basically being the only one that ever just fully accepted the Outsider. He's so adorable about it? I dunno. I might someday alter this chapter some to be less absolute gushiness…

 _-Aura_

To my reviewers:

 _The Whispering Sage_ – Heh, it seems Emily agrees with your sentiment about fairness.

 _Tigerfur_ – Glad you still like it. I'm still working on it when I can. I have a general summary for several chapters but I have to get time between classwork to actually detail out the writing.

 _Guest_ – Thanks for the kind reviews. I'm always happy when people take the time to leave a few words when they like what I'm working on fan fiction wise. Hope you continue to enjoy.


	12. Force

**Chapter Twelve:** **_Force_**

 _"Force is a word with many concepts, synonyms, and various meaning. Yet, force can be as unforgiving and unknowable as a hurricane or as simple as a few right words or a single meaningful stare. It covers a wide variety of options, it's quite a versatile use of language."_

 _The Outsider –_

The smoke stacks were all over the city, easily visible in the distance as pillars over the city's skyline billowing clouds of various colors into the dark horizon. Smog hung over the suburban area like a plague, even from a distance in the evening there was a dark streak that rose over the area into the sky. It was unmistakable approaching from the sea. I had looked at most of the Isles in my time, but seeing the color of the horizon at sunset contrasting so completely with the obsidian column of Driscol certainly stood out more from this view than it did within the void.

Driscol was a cold, dour place and I couldn't argue with Emily's muttered complaint that it reminded her of the colorlessness of the void. It wasn't the northern most city in the Isles, situated in just the right area between the snowy areas of Tyvia and Morley and the warmer south to often have miserable weather. The snow wasn't uncommon many months of the year and never enough to shut down the highly industrial center. No, there was just enough of the frigid precipitation to be pushed to the sides of the roads, against buildings, or piled in unused corners of lots. The many factories let out soot and ash that mixed or covered the flakes either just after or even when they fell. Thus, much of the ground was discolored either black or shades of grey.

I didn't have to worry much about the humans approaching me. Though I could tell some wished to speak more than a greeting most of the crew was too busy preparing with us finally being within sight of our goal. While I did have the lenses that Sokolov had crafted, it seemed most of the humans still sensed something amiss about me. Many sent me several glances over their shoulders as they worked, as if nervous I might attack them when they weren't looking. Others didn't seem to want to look at me at all. A few outright had a hard time not staring, as if trying to figure out what was different about me. Simply looking human hadn't made me one of them, they all had some idea that I was far from normal.

Then, a lot of them weren't sure how to react. From Emily's description, most of them had little faith in me having any capability in my position after I spent the majority of the trip sick in my quarters letting her wander freely. The truth of my absence couldn't be known and in the end the opinions meant little to me, I only considered it because I knew it meant something to her. My presenting a strong front helped give off the image that the Empire had security, all more political than I would prefer it. Apparently once we arrived we would be greeted by the Duke of Driscol and his family and I needed to accompany her to a social event in her name before we could consider chasing the false seamstress the ritual required.

It wasn't what I would prefer but I knew it was important to her, that she wanted to accomplish this while simultaneously keeping any sort of face as her countries leader. It was what I'd agreed to, so I would have done it without our interlude that afternoon, but I would be lying if I were try to tell myself I didn't want to be close to her, particularly for the short time I still possessed this form.

"Beggin' yer parden highness' the capt'n be askin fer ya." The thick accent of the boy placed him from somewhere in the country…likely originating from the center of the isles. Despite speaking to Emily he was looking at me, he was one of the ones that stared openly. He was still quite young, only recently 10. Barely old to have a job here but small enough to help with the cannons in an attack. He worked on the boat to make money for his sisters back home, the girls took advantage of his good nature and would for years to come while he struggled at sea. Though his lot was better than some others, he had an honest enough crew around him. I didn't mention anything to him about his family, it wasn't my place. Instead I touched Emily's shoulder when she didn't reply. She'd let herself get lost in her concerns as we approached.

"Your highness, we should reply to the Captain's summons before we arrive." I remarked politely. While I hadn't played the role of a servant in a very long time I knew the part from years of watching quite well.

"Of course," Emily nodded and headed toward the cabin in question with me just behind. The boy seemed relieved to get away from us when the Empress simply went to do as asked. No one any the wiser that she'd missed the first request. I stood to the side and the back, looking over the books on one of the captain's shelves so the pair could speak. The Captain though glanced past Emily all the same to look at me.

"Highness." He did have the state of mind to address Emily first. "I see you are finally feeling well enough to be on your feet Mister Wigmund. I'm glad for it, we'll be to the city soon."

I only nodded to the well-wishes.

"Captain, you had something you wished to speak to me about?" Emily spoke seriously and with little emotion in her voice, polite but cool. The way she often was in political discussions with the council. She managed to earn the man's attention back from me but he was one of the glance givers, occasionally his eyes would dart to me even while he spoke to her.

"Yes. I will not be able to linger around Driscol while you deal with your political matters. There is another job I can take on involving whaling and with so many whalers that left the coast it'll be worth a fair amount. I'm sure you understand." He said in a cheerful way. I was curious to find that he had a few books on poetry on his shelf…next to others more nautical in nature, fishing, whaling, and so on.

"No, I am afraid I don't understand Captain." Emily's voice had gone a degree colder, so I looked back to their exchange. "Are you trying to tell me the crown did not properly compensate you for my escort not just to and from Driscol but other places along the coast. "It is why craftsman were afforded to your ship for improvements over several days before we left."

"Yes, you were quite generous, but you know the scriptures highness. No man can afford to be sitting idle when there is work to be done." The man's smile had faded slightly but was still there. "Besides, your highness, you can afford to get another ship. Perhaps not with all the same finery, but it'll get you home all the same."

He had planned this from the beginning. To take the offered security upgrades and the first half of his payment for this job…then to simply leave the Empress and her escort since it was small. The entire reason Emily was forced to get a non-military ship was because so many of the forces around Dunwall had defected during or after the coup. It was insecure to take any of the few military ships left and leave, particularly on short notice. Instead they'd chosen someone who had once been military. I had to admit Mikael Aderson was shrewd…for all his greed he didn't swindle his crew. If a scene was caused they would support him.

"You will drop me off at the docks and wait as we agreed or you'll never be welcome in another Dunwall port again. It is very disappointing that you feel you would get away with this." Emily seemed to have concluded that he'd planned it as well, but lacked the knowledge I did as to the details of his crew.

"He doesn't plan to drop us off at the city." I remarked before the Captain could speak and his eyes returned to me, smirking just a bit like a man whose riddle had been solved.

"For a man who spent the trip only in his quarters I have to say your Royal Protector is quite perceptive. Don't worry, we won't drop you too far from the city but I couldn't have you calling the guards on me." The Captain said with the same cheerful expression. He was enjoying this. He didn't have much fondness for Dunwall…not anymore. He didn't dislike Emily per say, but this was also his own little revenge…making her look bad by being unable to even properly arrive to a city.

Emily slammed her hands on his desk, her temper no longer controlled at his threat. "Do you think I'll let you get away with this? That you won't be punished? What will your crew think if you lead them all into being wanted by the state?"

"I expect you'll try, but you have bigger fish to fry than me highness." The Captain stated with the same knowing smile. "You and your small group can't take on my whole crew and you'll find they trust me more than they'll be threatened by you."

I could tell she was angry, that she wanted to knock him out or hurt him, but that wouldn't help her position. The crew was probably already preparing for it, they had to have known this was the plan after all. Perhaps more of the glances my way had to do with my perceived position than my lack of humanity than I first thought. I laughed aloud, drawing both to look at me. It was too funny, all of this. I shouldn't get involved after all, normally I wouldn't…and Emily had known me well enough to not glance at me once during the conversation.

"…Artemus." She hesitated a moment before using the name she'd picked for me. It was hard for her to adjust from calling me the Outsider. She shook her head subtly but I ignored it.

"What sort of Royal Protector would I be if I allowed this?" I replied. "I can see Corvo up in arms should I not step up."

"Attacking me won't do any good so I do hope your amusement is based in something else." The Captain's smile had faltered nonetheless at my open humor. "You don't even carry your weapon on you and I'm trained in combat."

"Yes, I know well that you've trained in the special naval units Barnaby." I remarked, using a codename that the man hadn't heard in likely a decade or more. His smile faded completely and he instead glanced between me and Emily, searching for information on her face but finding little. To her credit, she managed not to look confused or surprised by my interjection. "I know a lot about you…your life growing up in the very city we're heading toward. You didn't like it in Driscol though, you headed for Dunwall on a boat when you were less than a decade, determined to find yourself something better than the fisherman's son."

"Whatever this is…I'm no.." He began to interrupt but his eyes widened as Emily leveled a sword at his throat, he even seemed as though he might challenge her resolve but she left a mark along his neck he didn't expect. It was thin but enough to quiet him.

"Let my Royal Protector continue." Emily stated. She looked back at me, a pillar of neutrality though I knew she was probably curious where I was going.

"It wasn't easy of course, you did odd jobs for a long time here and there, learning about the sea, about boats. You entered the navy young, younger than you were legally able but lying has never bothered you." I stated as I walked closer to the man's desk, not needing to look at him to know I'd frightened him. "You were loyal enough and had integrity about the actions of the military. Until shady members of the brass made your life difficult. You'd been in the wrong place at the wrong time, and your career ended early despite all you'd done."

I sat on the edge of his desk, offering a smile at his slight twitch at me perching myself there. I reached up as I continued, slowly taking out one of the lenses.

"O…Artemus." Emily nearly gave away the surprise a moment too soon. Her voice having grown nervous at my motion. I kept that eye closed, continuing to summarize the man's intentions. "You do fairly honest jobs much of the time…more than most in your shoes would. Still, when the opportunity to punish Jessamine's daughter, the daughter of the woman that allowed your unjust forced retirement to come along…it was too much to pass up. You couldn't help yourself, you wouldn't kill her just show her your dishonor."

"If you kill me you'll never make if off the ship alive. Besides, what do you know? You're what? Barely twenty and just some random guard she picked up? You've been the royal protector for five minutes. You don't know anything about this, or about me." He hissed, sounding as if he wanted to spit on me.

"That is incorrect Mikael Aderson, I know everything I need to about you." I leveled him with a silent stare, allowing him to see my eyes for what they were. To glimpse just a tiny fraction of the void within, to see me for my true self if only for a short time before I closed them again, not yet turning away to replace the lenses. "Now, I expect you'll finish your contract to the letter with no further complications?"

 _Emily –_

I was livid. How dare this man, who was so decorated by the military, turn on me like this. Was no one in this entire land trustworthy? I wanted to pull him out to his crew by his hair and gut him…but I couldn't do that. It wouldn't help me get a ship, or the crew to run it. What could I say to get him to remain? Threats seemed to mean nothing, and I couldn't afford to pay him more. He didn't even seem interested in more money, he hadn't asked for any.

Then the Outsider laughed, I blinked unexpectedly at the change in his mood. I hadn't said anything to him during the exchange. I didn't want him to fight my battles for me, even if we were something else to each other now, I planned to hold my country with my own hands. I wasn't going to expect or ask for his help even if father had demanded it. Still, I had rarely seen him express more than a smile in reply to those things that entertained him. Was there something wrong with him? Was he feeling feint?

"…Artemus." I stated after nearly making a mistake. I was having a hard time calling him anything but Outsider despite having made up his cover myself. I shook my head lightly once, knowing he'd notice it. Whatever was happening I didn't want him to step in every time I was in danger…

""What sort of Royal Protector would I be if I allowed this?" He replied to me with shrug. "I can see Corvo up in arms should I not step up."

"Attacking me won't do any god so I do hope your amusement is based in something else." The Captain answered the Outsider's remark but he didn't have the same bravdo he had a moment ago. "You don't even carry your weapon on you and I'm trained in combat."

"Yes, I know well that you've trained with the special naval units Barnaby." The Outsider spoke, the slightly sinister whimsy edging into a slight echo in his voice. I doubted I was just hearing it because I had before, somehow his actions had bled over into his tone. The Captain looked at me, seeming confused a moment, but the smile had been wiped off his face. The Outsider started listed facts about the mans life, where he grew up, how he'd come to be in the Dunwall.

"Whatever this is…I'm no.." He began to interrupt but his eyes widened as I set my sword at his throat. Even then he seemed ready to speak again but I cut lightly along his neck, showing the men weren't the only people in the room trained in the use of a blade. The thin line of red that appeared he pressed his hand into, surprised at my willingness to harm him.

"Let my Royal Protector continue." I ordered, glancing back to the Outsider. Whatever he'd started, he may as well get on with it now. I would look worse if I didn't arrive in the city, and while I hadn't asked or wanted his help I would try to appreciate it all the same.

The Outsider's story continued as he walked up to sit on the man's desk. Talking about the Captain's history in the military, how he'd started as a stand-up individual but other corrupt members had ruined his career.

"O…Artemus." I nearly said it again. I had to improve that, make it more natural to call him the fake name. I was nervous but he didn't even look at me. He continued to speak to the man. How he'd blamed mother, and wanted to punish me in her stead. How many people felt the same? How much done by people other than me was still put on my head with the crown? When I saw the Outsider taking out one of the lenses I interjected.

"If you kill me you'll never make if off the ship alive. Besides, what do you know? You're what? Barely twenty and just some random guard she picked up? You've been the royal protector for five minutes. You don't know anything about this, or about me." He hissed at the Outsider, all composure from before gone. I didn't threaten the man with my blade again, instead putting it away. I knew the Outsider could be more than intimidating when he wished it without me having to do anything.

"That is incorrect Mikael Aderson, I know everything I need to about you." The Outsider stated, opening his eyes. I still found them beautiful…timeless…but the Captain had blanched. His body shivering as the Outsider continued a moment later after having closed his eyes again. "Now, I expect you'll finish your contract to the letter with no further complications?"

"No…no…I'll do anything you want." The Captain made a ward across his chest many did in hopes of keeping away bad spirits. "You…" He looked at me, then the Outsider, then at me again. "You…are…your highness I apologize for my grave insults…I didn't mean…"

"Don't." I interrupted him. Pursing my lips in displeasure at the spooked way he jumped to sniveling. "Just do what you were asked to, and don't mention my Royal Protector to anyone, then you'll have nothing to worry about."

"Yes, yes your highness thank you…I…" He went silent, looking at the Outsider. Though he had already put back in his lenses and walked back to the mans bookshelf, as though the whole encounter had never happened. "I will make sure everything is to your liking…I appreciate this chance. I'll make sure we're heading to Driscol now."

He almost fell out of his chair getting up from the desk, then stumbled a few times on his way out of the office. I sighed, rubbing my temples at the headache I felt forming. Had I just let him break a man so I could save face?

"He'll be fine after a while." The Outsider remarked, as if he could read my thoughts. "He'll listen all the same. I expect he'll be a dedicated hand after this."

"You didn't have to get involved." I stated in near deadpan. "You could have broken him."

"It seemed unlikely with what I knew." The Outsider answered, picking one of the books off the shelf and holding it in his arm as though he were at some grand library picking out casual research. "Besides, what good will it do the country if you appear weak now? This tour may have been a cover, but it is still important to your people. There needs to at least be the appearance of a united front yes?"

"I know…" I sighed at his reassurances. "Still, I don't want you to always step in for me."

"I won't always be here to, allow me my short indulgences." His voice was softer as he got close to me, his browsing complete. Did he know it would assuage my temper if he spoke so gently? He had to but I didn't mind this time.

"All right…thank you." I said, smiling a bit as he settled his free hand on my waist. I had such a complicated reaction to his touch. I loathed and loved how easy it was to ignore the trouble of the ship and the near political disaster just because he was close.

"My pleasure, my empress." He purred, leaning down to capture my lips and I didn't stop him. On the contrary, I curled my fingers into his hair after a moment to deepen the embrace. His hair was soft, almost like the long-haired rabbit I'd had as a pet when I was a child. His hand meanwhile traced up my side, as if reverently hesitating despite a desire to do more. I thought about moaning in protest when he backed away but instead furrowed my brow at him.

"The boat has altered course, we're heading toward Driscol again. We should each be prepared to depart." He pointed out, his voice perfectly proper despite the fact I'd tousled his hair in our short embrace. Why did he have to be right all the time? Why did he kiss me like that then simply stop? It wasn't fair that he looked so unconcerned when I was tempted to ignore appearances for more time with him…

Still, I was an Empress. The Empress. I straightened my jacket and nodded toward the mirror in the Captain's office. "You'll want to fix your hair."

"Only so you may disorganize it later." He murmured, offering another light peck…though without moving and in the short motion his hair was already fixed. That was so unfair.

"Really? You couldn't have granted me that as a power?" I asked, a bit jealous despite myself.

He grinned. "I don't believe it would be particularly useful for you."

"Say that to my maids on my bad mornings." I answered lightly, heading for the door as I schooled my expression. We were going to meet the duke and his family after all, for as much as I adored these moments that let me forget for a time my responsibilities I refused to let them get in the way of me doing my job. I would improve this country, and this was a good step no matter if it was also to help the Outsider return. That was my job now was it not? Forget only two…I needed to kill as many birds as possible with one stone. Somehow, with the Outsider following me out to the deck of the boat, I didn't feel as nervous as I normally would at a public appearance. I had no reason to.

 **End Chapter**

There is more to the Outsider acting on people and using his powers (or even just showing who he is in this chapters case) than just that he cares about Emily. Reasons that will eventually unfold but I wanted to mention in case people thought his continued involvement OOC. I also feel I may alter the opening comments/chapter title sometime. The quote seems weak compared to some of the others : (. I was happy I got to throw the word dishonored into the fic, little things.

 _-Aura_

To my reviewers:

 _Aelitalyoko_ – Heh, that's how I feel about this couple in general. They are adorbs.

 _The Whispering Sage_ – LOL, I still have some plans for sure. Just a matter of juggling working on this and school papers.

 _Tigerfur_ – The quotes? I'm making them up as I go honestly, trying to think what either Emily or the Outsider, or possibly a third party (but mostly the Outsider) might say about a topic.

 _Guest_ – Thanks. I try and am happy if I get a hit instead of striking out XD


	13. Connection

**Chapter 13:** **_Connection_**

 _"Funny that we all seek connection, to the world, to the people in it, to our lives so we feel we are completing some purpose. We want it so badly, we sometimes don't consider it in the way we should, we take advantage at some times and at too few we are thankful for it. Most of all, we lament when we lose it…"_

 _Emily –_

"It is our great honor to host you your highness." The Duke, Christian Van Daken was going through the usual motions after we had greeted each other and he'd introduced his family. All the circumstance that I was taught to expect and often only tolerated. I felt more serious this time. It was my first real political exchange outside the capital since I'd regained my throne. I didn't want anyone to get the idea I didn't care. I was a bit curious as to why the Duke's wife hadn't come with his son and two daughters to greet me. Before I could ask however the Outsider had leaned forward to whisper to me. Reminding me of the soft echo my mother's voice had when it came from the heart.

 _"His wife has passed, during Delilah's reign…she was killed by an uprising of factory workers…"_ The soft hiss reminded me of the echo my mother's voice had when I carried the heart. But he couldn't exactly yell the information. And it wasn't strange for a guard or attendant to inform the person they worked for of various things quietly. I had to admit the Outsider was better at playing this part than I expected, just what did he think Corvo would do if he didn't hold up his end of the bargain? I wonder if he'd have been as helpful if we weren't as close now.

"I am honored to have your hospitality, Your Grace." I replied politely. I fell into step with him as we turned back toward the city, raising a hand to wave at the crowds that had gathered to see me here. Some looked happy to see me, others were more subdued. I glanced back to the second line of people behind us; The Outsider walked next to his children.

His children were a bit dour, so I supposed I should have guessed something negative had happened but they all wore their sadness well enough. It was hardest to tell with his oldest son; Anton Van Daken, he a year older than I was, but he hadn't married yet. He was considered one of the most eligible bachelors in the nobility almost anywhere in the Isles. However, from what I knew he never showed much interest in marriage and instead had already trained heavily to take over the Duchy, he could already run it in his father's stead if the need arose. Kiya Van Daken, the second born, was only twelve, she looked as though she were trying to keep a neutral face but was more obviously somber than the others. I couldn't blame her, I wasn't much younger than her when I'd lost my mother. Natalia was the youngest, a girl only seven who less sad and instead had been watching the Outsider intently since the introductions. She'd learned enough in her lessons to know that she shouldn't speak at events like this.

"You'll be staying with us for three days per the correspondence. Are you certain you can't stay longer your highness? We'd be happy to have you." The Duke asked as we walked, also offering a wave to the crowd as we walked for the large carriage that would take us to his estate from the docks.

"I would like to spend more time as well, however, I have many other cities I will need to visit as well. It's been too long since the crown stepped out of Dunwall to check on her sister cities." I replied with all the politeness expected of my refusal to stay longer. I glanced over the city, and honestly looking at it, I was a bit ashamed of how relieved I was Dunwall didn't look like Driscol. They were my people to…I had to be able to improve on this…

"The letter we received was sparse, what were your plans for this visit your highness? If you don't mind me asking?" It was Anton that spoke up. A bit of a breach of etiquette since he didn't have his father's rank but I didn't comment on it. However, it was while we were climbing into the carriage so it was at least an informal situation.

"I wish to discuss the general state of affairs, that much was put in the letter. Start to consider what we can do to improve the lives of the people here." I answered neutrally. I didn't want to commit to anything too specific but I knew I needed to say more than that when they remained silent. "I would like a general tour of the city's main districts, as well as some of the outskirts. I have heard that farms here have been suffering."

"I'm certain Anton will be happy to oblige you and your Royal Protector a tour." Christian took back over the conversation from his son smoothly. "If you don't mind me sitting out. Being out in the cold isn't as easy on my knees as it once was. How is Corvo? He is sitting in your place while you are on tour yes?"

We settled ourselves. I was on one side, with The Outsider and Anton sitting next to me. The Duke opposite me, Natalia opposite the Outsider, and Kiya opposite her older brother – though she just looked out the window and gave a small wave here or there to the people outside. It was clear she was trying to put on a brave face.  
"He is, and he is well, thank you for asking." I stated, avoiding the subject of the Outsider as my new person in that position. At least during introductions, I hadn't hesitated to use his code name. "He regrets that he couldn't also come, but the council is sparse in Dunwall."

I hated to admit any faults, but there were some things I couldn't just pretend didn't exist. It was better to allow some appearance of weakness than try to deny it and convince people it was even worse than reality. I was about to ask about how Delilah's short control of the empire had affected Driscol when Natalia finally spoke up.

"Are you a witch?" The young voice was colored with equal parts fear and curiosity. She was still openly staring at the Outsider. I hope I kept my surprise at that question off my face, but certainly most of the car, even the all but depressed Kiya, turned to look at the youngest member.

Thankfully the Outsider hadn't done more than smile a little bit, before he could answer the young girl the Duke interjected, a small flush on his cheeks of embarrassment for his child's question. "Natalia, you don't ask people if they are witches, it's rude. Sir Wigmund is the Royal Protector, he is the guard for Empress Emily."

"But, he could be a witch and be a guard." Natalia remarked. I sort of wanted to laugh at the distressed expression on the Duke's face but I stopped myself. If they only knew just how observant the girl was…The Outsider looked as though he was amused by the conversation as well. I let them discuss, a bit curious where the Duke would take this conversation. Though before he could speak up it was Kiya that interjected.

"Natalia, the crown supports the Abbey, do you really think the Empress would have a witch as a guard?" Her tone was slightly insulting, a bit tired, I suppose that's what siblings were for. I wouldn't know, I never had the luxury.

"Oh…I guess not. I'm sorry Sir Wigmund." The girl looked a little dejected as she said it.

The Outsider shook his head lightly, silently dismissing the exchange and not looking insulted. I expect he was probably quite entertained by that little exchange. It could have gone worse I suppose. If anything, I felt as much outsider to them as he was to everyone. The small family exchange…it was endearing in a way I hadn't expected. Nobles or not, they were still a family with all the tiny social aspects any family would have.

"I will speak to our attendants so briefings can be made in regards to the city and what is going on economically." The Duke changed the subject directly, moving past his daughter's 'insult' to my 'Royal Protector'. I nodded along and allowed things to become formal again, it was why I was here after all. Once the subject changed back to politics it took up the rest of the trip to the manor.

 _The Outsider –_

None of them were excited to meet Emily, the introductions, the political dance they'd learned to perform, they were all too wounded for it to be more than a painful routine. The mother had adored it all, all the political details and the niceties of high society, she would have made certain that all of the dress ties were perfect, that Kiya's hair was still pretty but without it hurting her the way it did when her attendants did it up. She would have smiled and made it less about political exchange and somehow polite but more comfortable. As it was, the exchange was correct as far as etiquette was concerned but as chilled as the waters beneath the group meeting on the docks.

I leaned over after the introductions were made to let Emily know the reason behind the missing bride. " _His wife has passed, during Delilah's reign…she was killed by an uprising of factory workers…"_

Delilah had demanded more industry immediately when she took over. She wanted a fleet of ships with which to sail across the long sea to the Pandyssian Continent and take over the world. Driscol was key to that. With the demand for work high, the safety and health had gone down swiftly. Greed had led to men being abused and taking out their anger on the only reasonable source, the cities leaders. Lady Van Daken's death was the result…

I didn't pay close attention to the conversation, instead I was considering the family and the various impressions I got from them. How they felt about what had happened was very varied despite having all been raised similarly. I allowed myself to get so distracted in my observations while we walked and got onto the carriage that it wasn't until I was asked a question by the youngest that I made note of how much she'd been staring at me. Children were always so interesting, they always saw so much more than those that had created them…

Was I a witch?

No. I could honestly tell her I was not that. I didn't get the chance however.

"Natalia, you don't ask people if they are witches, it's rude. Sir Wigmund is the Royal Protector, he is the guard for Empress Emily." The Duke was quick to admonish his daughter, it was strained in politeness. Clearly he hadn't predicted she would ask me something so direct any more than I had…

"But, he could be a witch and be a guard." She answered in the reasonable way children often thought. I had to admit, I liked her for the logic. It was obviously true. I knew I had to seem as if I found the question humorous but I kept myself from smiling outright. I didn't move to correct her though, I wanted to see what the man would do. Yet, before the father could step in it was the bitter older sister that shook her head at the younger.

"Natalia, the crown supports the Abbey, do you really think the Empress would have a witch as a guard?" Her tone indicated she was all but calling her sister unintelligent. I wonder what she would think if she knew how much closer to the truth the youngest sibling was compared to the rest.

"Oh…I guess not. I'm sorry Sir Wigmund." Natalia sad sadly.

I shook my head lightly, to indicate I was not insulted by her question. If anything, I had to admire her skill at picking out the truth of what was happening around her. Emily hadn't spoken up either, and seemed to find it all almost as entertaining as I did. Though her own eyes were softer, she was watching them with more empathy than I was…

"I will speak to our attendants so briefings can be made in regards to the city and what is going on economically." The Duke changed the subject directly, moving past his daughter's 'insult' as quickly as he could. Emily took up the conversation as well, turning it toward the far less interesting politics. I meanwhile was plotting when I would be able to go and get Bethany with the busy schedule they were all setting up.

I understood the need for such a cover but it was not something I delighted in going along with, this was slowing down getting the ritual completed. Even if it was by days here time didn't work the same way in the void. What would be left by the time we kidnapped this girl and returned her to the capital? I could still recall Delilah's frantic begging, the lack of sanity in her rambles…if she lost enough of it would she change her mind on wanting to return the power to me?

Once we arrived I couldn't spend time fretting over what wasn't changeable. Instead as we exited the vehicle I took a moment to whisper to Natalia. "I'm not mad, I like the idea of magic too."

The girl brightened considerably at my small remark, giving me a huge smile on our way up to the house. As it was already late in the day we were provided small meals in our shared rooms and allowed to retire. I was a bit relieved for it, while Emily had to participate in the finite details of political planning, I had never found it overly entertaining. Though, neither did I want to run an empire as she did…

"What did you think of them all?" Emily asked once the attendants had left us.

"They are in pain." I answered honestly. "By no fault of their own. Their mother's death has left a rift in the family."

"Do you know what happened?" She seemed curious of what I knew.

"When Delilah took over she demanded high levels of production from Driscol. One of the councilmen over the cities factory district thought it was a good idea to lock workers inside so they were unable to leave during most hours. Families and other workers panicked, they blamed the cities rulers and though the Lady Van Daken had no knowledge of what was happening she was killed when she was out in the city. A causality of a war she had nothing to do with…" I explained the tale in short terms. "Once the duke found out the practices were undone and the councilman ejected from his position but the damage had already been done. The Duke and his son both have cracked down on security and haven't been overly kind to the workers since then even if they don't completely blame them all. Contrary to them, the oldest daughter wishes she could put them all in one of the factories and light it on fire. The youngest doesn't fully understand, she misses her mother but she's recovered the best thus far."

"So, it'll be even more difficult to deal in a way to make the average citizens life a bit easier." Emily noted after a long moment to digest all I'd told her. "At least the Duke and his son seem reasonable."  
"The Duke is going to ask you to consider his son for engagement." I stated. Emily choked on the wine she was drinking at my comment. Perhaps I should only tell her things when she is not in a position to asphyxiate herself.

"What? Why?" Her voice had gone a bit higher. Why was she more surprised by this than the description I'd given earlier about the wife's death?

"He is concerned about his son's position after his wife's death." I stated, figuring she must need more information on the topic if she didn't understand.

"Yes…I guess that makes sense…but doesn't that bother you?" Emily had stopped eating to focus more on our conversation.

"No. It is a logical course in the eyes of the father. There is little better position in the realm than as a paramour of the Empress herself." I answered, pausing my own meal as she frowned.

"Doesn't that bother you?" She wanted me to say yes.

"Why should it bother me?" I knew that answer would irritate her but I wouldn't lie to her.

"Oh, I don't know…cause being engaged implies a certain emotional attachment." The sarcasm that leaked into her voice was just another sign that she was more frustrated than she would say with my reaction. She wanted me to be jealous of such a concept…

"There are countless social ties made by marriage that are not emotional in nature." I answered with a shrug, unable to fathom why this would anger her. Had she not thought about it before? "I didn't assume that you would care about the youth, or even that you would accept the proposal. I simply thought it wise to let you know that it was probably going to be made."

That at least seemed to placate her momentarily as she returned to her meal, albeit grudgingly compared to before. She was quiet a short time before speaking after a few bites. "I…don't want to get married. My life has never been like other girls, and there is no reason to start now."

"However," I could tell she wanted to say something else and I let the single word hang as an invitation. She'd gotten quiet toward the end of her statement. She always did that when she wanted to say more on a subject but also didn't want to say more. I wasn't offended by her admission, if anything I had to enjoy that she wouldn't want to keep appearances up even if it might weaken her position in her empire. I assumed my presence in her life had influenced these words…

"I don't know how long it'll work. Before my councilors or other nobles try to work against me if I don't provide some sort of heir. Or at the very least claim some other noble family as next in line." She explained in a soft voice. "Mother never married, but she at least had me so people couldn't use a lack of an heir against her. What I want, and what I need to do for the Empire are different things. I'll at least need to have a child eventually."

She was food around on her plate, seeming more like a child who didn't want to talk about having gotten in trouble than an adult discussing responsibilities. For as much as she'd grown up from Delilah's coup she was still, at times, the little girl whose mother had died in front of her

I nodded at her observations. All of them were logical enough. She was fretting over her future in ways she hadn't prior to Delilah and the Duke's coup. "These aren't incorrect thoughts or poor things to consider when you consider that you want to be the Empress of Dunwall."

"Yes but…" She frowned at me more. "I realize this might be quickly to discuss this but…my having a child. That doesn't bother you? Can you have children? Would you even want to?"

She was hoping for answers I couldn't give her…was this our future then, her fretting over all the minute details of a mundane life I couldn't offer her. I sighed and set down my silverware. I didn't want to feel particularly mortal for this conversation. It was better if I didn't.

 **End Chapter**

Way to jump the gun there Emily…from kissing and being close for a few days to kids… Delilah left Emily with a condition about being Empress properly didn't she? Somehow writing it, even though it is serious, made me chuckle. We're frozen over here in the mid-west but at least that gave me time to catch up on school for the week and write for a while!

 _-Aura_

To my reviewers:

 _The Whispering Sage_ – Heh more drama planned but in the hopes it'll make them closer in the end. Depends on what my muse decides usually.

 _Tigerfur_ – LOL, I tried to make him seem like a decent guy. Void mind tricks lol. Pretty sure Disney would still sue somebody. Awesome, hope you continue to enjoy it.


	14. Expectations

**Chapter Fourteen:** ** _Expectations_**

 _"Expectations are dangerous things, indulging in them is akin to growing weeds. They grow until it's difficult to see the rest of the grass around them, until they smother out reality, which may have once been more beautiful than the unrealistic hopes."_

 _The Outsider –_

"I cannot say for certain if I am capable of having a child but I would doubt it." I answered her. "If it were a possibility I still would have to say I wouldn't want children, not being what I am."

"Oh…" As I expected, she was disappointed.

"However, you are overlooking an obvious solution. Assuming you never change your mind and want some sort of paramour or don't want a child of your own." I continued, disliking her saddened expression no matter how illogical it was. "There are thousands of children without parents."

"That is true." She answered, trying not to come off as disheartened as she was by this information. I got up and walked to her side of the table, leaning down in front of her and taking her hands. My own expression I tried to keep neutral but I knew I was mirroring some of her gloom.

"I am not human, Emily. You know what lies beneath this mortal disguise, you know that my presence is temporary. As it is, I need to leave and begin tracking the witch. I cannot offer you a marriage or a child, but you mean more to me than any mortal ever has and likely ever will again. For all the mundane parts of life I cannot give you, I will do what I can to fulfill your life if you wish for me to be a part of it."

She stared at me, eyes slightly wide after my confession. Did it surprise her that I cared for her? Had I not shown it already?

"But you know things, so many things." Her words were more complaint than compliment. "Don't you already know how this, our strange relationship, works out?"

"I am not omniscient, the glimpses I see of people's lives are just that. Whispers and flashes in my mind not unlike the way the heart functioned though often with much more detail than it could provide to you and without having to actively think about it most times." I explained, it was a bit of an understatement, but still true. "I only rarely have these glimpses when it involves myself and thus they aren't common for those who have my mark. I know no more than you as to how this will work out. Please don't doubt that I enjoy your company or that I want to explore you far more than time has allotted."

Her cheerlessness was steadily transforming into embarrassment over my continued confession, by the time I'd finished my comments she was blushing again. It was pleasing that I could get so strong a woman to demur at nothing more than words. I kissed her hands and smiled when she cupped my face. If I could appreciate anything out of her concerns it was that fear of me was not one of them. She was always worried, but she opened herself to me so readily…I doubt I could express to her how much those small gestures meant.

"I'm sorry." She sighed, a sign she was over her apprehension. "I am being silly. It doesn't matter, I am glad you are here, and we will work it out. Go ahead, I know you need to go and look for the witch and we have limited time. I would come if you let me."

"It would cause undue duress if you and I were discovered missing." I answered, lingering at her touch despite her dismissal, and the truth of my limited time. "You know I would be glad to have you otherwise."

"I do." She agreed, leaning down to give me a brief kiss before waving at the door. Her empress persona back in place at the gesture of royal release. I leaned up and into her nonetheless, kissing her again more deeply before fading into shadow. It was perhaps childish, perhaps more human than I should act…but I always to leave her wanting me …

 _Emily –_

The Outsider was explaining in fair detail not just about the death of Lady Van Daken, but the family's feelings on it and the general political situation between the cities workers and the council over the city. As most cities in my empire the people had little reason to trust those in charge, but here I had to admit the Duke's ability to still separate himself mostly from his wife's murder was better than many in power would have done. If I had possessed the ability when my mother died to burn all her murderers alive would I have? I couldn't say I knew for sure I could have stopped myself so I didn't blame Kiya for her feelings on it.

"So, it'll be even more difficult to deal in a way to make the average citizens life a bit easier." I observed when he finished his remarks between bites of dinner, picking up my wine to wash down the slightly un0spiced meal, there was reason the food here wasn't exactly revered. "At least the Duke and his son seem reasonable."  
"The Duke is going to ask you to consider his son for engagement." I choked on the wine at the unexpected and unrelated statement to what was just being discussed. The Outsider however was still eating, watching me calmly as though he had not dumped such a surprising detail in my lap.

"What? Why?" I could hear that my voice was shocked but I didn't particularly care. Why did he seem so nonchalant about that sort of a proposal?

"He is concerned about his son's position after his wife's death." He explained more at my shock, cutting another piece of meat off and putting it in his mouth. He was utterly nonplussed by this conversation, it was bizarre. Did he not care if I ended up getting married? I hadn't thought about marriage for some time, I sort of presumed it would happen eventually but now that I liked the Outsider…that wasn't really an option anymore.

"Yes…I guess that makes sense…but doesn't that bother you?" I stopped eating, losing my appetite at the new conversation topic. Shouldn't it bother him? Wouldn't it bother anyone else? Then…he wasn't like anyone else…

"No. It is a logical course in the eyes of the father. There is little better position in the realm than as a paramour of the Empress herself." His reply was logical, cold, the sort of thing you should expect from a creature like him. A non-human answer. I frowned a little…I sort of wanted him to feel something about the concept.

"Doesn't that bother you?" I asked even knowing that it wouldn't.

"Why should it bother me?" He asked calmly.

"Oh, I don't know…cause being engaged implies a certain emotional attachment." I still didn't like it though I knew that would be his answer. No part of him was bothered by the idea of me being with someone else? I suppose we hadn't really been intimate yet, not in a physical way…but I thought there would be more of a connection…

"There are countless social ties made by marriage that are not emotional in nature." He said with a shrug as though perfectly secure there would be no emotional attachment on my side. "I didn't assume that you would care about the youth, or even that you would accept the proposal. I simply thought it wise to let you know that it was probably going to be made."

Yes, that explanation fit him. He was quite confident. I suppose he had no reason not to be, he was basically a god after all. I picked back up my silverware. Thoughts on my future now more than I normally considered it. I was used to thinking ahead for planning meetings involving my people or my city but myself? I'd never made much of a habit of it after I took on the crown.

"I…don't want to get married. My life has never been like other girls, and there is no reason to start now." I stated, I was self-assured in that no matter that I sounded so dismal.

"However," He always knew when there was more to it.

"I don't know how long it'll work. Before my councilors or other nobles try to work against me if I don't provide some sort of heir. Or at the very least claim some other noble family as next in line." I was quiet, not wanting any of this conversation to be overheard. But also, because it wasn't the most comfortable of topics. "Mother never married, but she at least had me so people couldn't use a lack of an heir against her. What I want, and what I need to do for the Empire are different things. I'll at least need to have a child eventually."

I pushed my food around my plate, I felt foolish even that this bothered me. It hadn't before a few minutes ago. It wasn't like a relationship with the Outsider could end up in kids, at least I doubted it. I never even wanted children…if it wasn't my job to have some sort of replacement when I died I wasn't sure I'd have ever considered it an option.

He nodded at me, he was still so composed about the whole thing. "These aren't incorrect thoughts or poor things to consider when you consider that you want to be the Empress of Dunwall."

"Yes but…" I frowned, as much at myself as at him. I knew I was being silly but I couldn't help it. "I realize this might be quickly to discuss this but…my having a child. That doesn't bother you? Can you have children? Would you even want to?"

I again knew the answer before he said it aloud, but to a point I needed to hear it aloud. To know that these options weren't options at all. I wouldn't regret not having children, not really, but the idea that he may not be bothered by me having children with someone else bothered me.

"I cannot say for certain if I am capable of having a child given we haven't tried, but I would doubt it." He said, almost thoughtful at the prospect. "If it were a possibility I still would have to say I wouldn't want children, not being what I am."

"Oh…" As I expected.

"However, you are overlooking an obvious solution. Assuming you never change your mind and want some sort of paramour or don't want a child of your own." He was reasoning with me, I appreciated and didn't appreciate it. "There are thousands of children without parents."

"That is true." I agreed, trying to not sound down since it was a reasonable alternative. One I should have come up with myself. If I didn't want to have a child of my own there were countless orphans in the isles that could work as substitutes. As I was considering it he walked around the table and took my hands, his face wasn't as neutral. My poor mood was wearing off, why was I being so unreasonable?

"I am not human, Emily." He used my name when he really wanted to accent a point. "You know what lies beneath this mortal disguise, you know that my presence is temporary. As it is, I need to leave and begin tracking the witch. I cannot offer you a marriage or a child, but you mean more to me than any mortal ever has and likely ever will again. For all the mundane parts of life I cannot give you, I will do what I can to fulfill your life if you wish for me to be a part of it."

I stared in surprise at his confession. He always took things so much further than I expected him to. He was something more than human…but did that matter if he cared about me? And I did him?

"But you know things, so many things." I stated, a bit frustrated by the fact. "Don't you already know how this, our strange relationship, works out?"

"I am not omniscient, the glimpses I see of people's lives are just that. Whispers and flashes in my mind not unlike the way the heart functioned though often with much more detail than it could provide to you and without having to actively think about it most times. I only rarely have these glimpses when it involves myself and thus they aren't common for those who have my mark. I know no more than you as to how this will work out. Please don't doubt that I enjoy your company or that I want to explore you far more than time has allotted."

The explanation was nice, having some small clue has to what he could do or how it worked no matter how basic. Then he went on to speak so intimately despite how little we'd time spent together…I felt my face growing more flush at his words. Was he always going to do this to me? Didn't I always want him too?

"I'm sorry." I sighed. "I am being silly. It doesn't matter, I am glad you are here, and we will work it out. Go ahead, I know you need to go and look for the witch and we have limited time. I would come if you let me."

"It would cause undue duress if you and I were discovered missing." He said, lingering near where I'd touched his cheek with my hand despite his insistence that he needed to go. "You know I would be glad to have you otherwise."

"I do." I agreed leaning down to give me a brief kiss, I was afraid with more I'd not let him go accomplish his mission. Then he pressed, following me up from the floor to sweep me into a much deeper embrace, waiting seemingly until just when I gave in to wrap my arms around him to fade into shadows.

"You are an unjust paramour…" I pouted as I realized he'd left me there. I could have sworn I heard a small echo of whispered laughter at the remark. I scowled playfully after his exit. Next time I wasn't too keen on letting him leave but I couldn't overly protest it now. Still, after that I wasn't exactly ready for bed. I should have had Sarah drop off an extra bottle of wine. I sighed and finished dinner before heading to the door. I would just go to the kitchens and get a bottle myself. There was no reason to wake anyone.

The house was dark, enough that sneaking along the halls was easy enough as I headed for the kitchen and cellar. I'd never had a fear of the dark. No one even had seen me on the way, not that there were many guards or servants in the halls but the security was laxer than Corvo would have allowed. I stopped near the wine cellar to look over the collection, there were many labels but I had to get close to read them in the poor lighting. I eventually narrowed it down to two then took them both. I'd probably want another tomorrow after all.

I was on my back to my room when I saw the shadow move out of the corner of my eye, another person sneaking about the estate. What was going on there? I frowned and padded after them, wondering what was happening, was the place under attack? Was it just some paramour looking for a maid? Either way I wasn't going to just ignore it since the figure was heading toward the area where the duke and his family slept.

 **End Chapter**

A bit short compared to some chapters but a good time to take a break I think. Emily is so impulsive! She's fun to write for. I have family coming in to visit for a few days this week so not sure how much I'll have time to work on this but at least I did while I was iced inside.

 _-Aura_

To my reviewers:

 _The Whispering Sage_ – LOL yeah, I was thinking about Emily scaring him off too but it felt like it worked and my muse sometimes does what she wants. I've played the first game twice (the DLC once) and I'm close to the end of my second play through of d2 but I plan to play it more since I want to play both characters through on both low and high chaos. I am glad to hear I've kept people in character as that's always a goal for me to make fanfiction authentic in a different story.

 _IntotheDeep27_ – Heh well I have a lot in mind still. I sort of hope I can at least make it 27 chapter or so – some level of 9 since the games have 9 chapters XD And in honor of how much I hit f9 while playing them…

 _Tigerfur_ – Heh, that could be part of it. I personally want to someday write a parody for 'sail' but 'whale' using a bunch of dishonored shots (obviously particularly the outsider). But I'm weird.

 _DickChan_ – I actually felt the Outsider was still pretty neutral though most of the second game til toward the later parts. And his emotion was justified I feeled 'she's a part of me now and I don't like it'. I mean, Delilah did sort of screw him, his emotional attitude is justified.

 _Guest_ – lol he is a bit slimy but he's not completely horrible as a person. Too bad the Outsider sort of broke him…


	15. Surprise

**Chapter Fifteen:** **_Surprise_**

 _"A pleasant surprise seems an ironic or sarcastic statement, as few surprises are truly pleasant and the very act of being surprised is met more often with fright than frivolity."_

 _Emily –_

There was care that had to be taken in stalking someone else that was accustomed to the shadows. The same small flicker that didn't fit out the corner of an eye that had drawn my attention, could just as easily give me away to the shady person stalking my host's halls. Was it just a burglar looking for something to fence, a man slipping in to visit a lady's maid, or something more sinister? If it was just someone looking to steal something I didn't really want to get involved but as they went further into the wing of the house they had to pass several statues that would have fetched a good price. They had a mask and a hood to cover their face, which didn't exactly inspire confidence in innocence. I was considering how to interject before they became dangerous when I turned a corner and no longer saw them in front of me.

I froze.

Convinced their intentions weren't benevolent I glanced swiftly along the hall. There were three doors but only one was close enough that they could have gotten inside but even that seemed unlikely. So where had they gone? I glanced up just in time, sliding back as the figure landed hard in front of me, large hands close enough that I felt the wind brush by my skin as they just missed grabbing me around the neck. Yes, certainly not just here to whisper sweet nothings to a maid.

My first impression that it was a man got more evidence now that I had a closer look, the body was thicker and taller than most, the hands and feet large for someone with such soft steps. At first impression, I'd thought his clothing was darker, but that was the shadows and stalking from a distance I'd considered safe. The jacket was a crimson red and many of the belts on his person a dark brown. There was a mask over the lower part of his face but not his eyes, there was something about him that looked familiar…that haunted the back of my mind.

If I hadn't trained so extensively with father I doubt I would have reacted quickly enough to counter attack, but I did. I struck out at the same time he raised a hand to gesture at me. Even as I'd jumped back I'd dropped a bottle and drawn my blade. As I cut through the glove over his right hand a green light became visible and the memory cut through me as cleanly as any knife could have.

The day had been lovely, I'd just finished a game of hide and seek with father and run up to speak with mother as he let her know of his return. I didn't know yet then that he was my father, but that didn't matter, he'd always functioned in that role even before I knew he held it. The day was shining brightly, there was no darkness, none of the sinister shadows most stories of clandestine assassinations were wrapped in. There was light everywhere, and for a moment it appeared Corvo had stopped them. Mother had even started to thank him…

 _Then light…a new green light appeared as if from nowhere. A mockery to the concept that darkness was what should be feared. It did something to Corvo, stopped him so he couldn't act as another man appeared, this one without a mask at all. He stabbed the Empress Jessamine Kaldwin through the chest while his face was uncovered. Mother tried to push him away but all he did was backhand her, put a glove around her throat, and stab her through the chest. I only saw that face for a moment, only in a blurred way that I never expected I could recognize later after the events. I tried to run, but the one with the light grabbed me, pulled me from everything I'd ever known until then._

Now though, I knew it was the same man…that this figure I'd been stalking through the halls had killed my mother. That green light…I hadn't ever seen Corvo use it, nor Delilah and her witches…this was the first time I'd seen that same light. It had disoriented me as much as the memory and I fell to my knees despite my will to do otherwise, the second bottle of wine and my blade falling to the carpet. I couldn't even scream for help when I got the inkling to warn others…

"You…" He'd been about to bring his blade through my chest, the same way he once had killed my mother. What a cruel irony that would have been, if I would have died to the same man in the same way. Did he recognize me? As he paused I realized I knew the mark on his hand that glowed, I knew it all too well…the man that killed my mother knew the outsider? "…Emily Kaldwin."

He didn't stab me, though he easily could have as he stood there, holding me in place against my will with the same light that had stopped Corvo so long ago. He hadn't been the one wielding it then but he did so quite well now. He looked torn, as if this was a hard thing for him. Why would he? He hadn't hesitated when it came to mother. What was going on? Was it the outsider? Regardless, he waited too long and his power flickered so I took advantage, I twisted around the moment I could move, kicking his feet from under him as I swept my sword back into my hand. By the time I finished my spin I leveled the sword at his throat, discouraging him from reaching for his own blade by pulling blood to the surface. I wanted to plunge the weapon deeper, to push it through him carelessly the way I'd seen him do to my family but I stopped.

"Why are you here?" I had to remain calm, if he was here to kill the duke or one of his family I had to find out what I could. If someone was willing to hire one assassin, they would be willing to hire more. If I could stop the plot here it would be better. I needed information before I killed him.

"Well, seems you recognize me, you are a bright leader Empress." the man snarked at me in a whisper. His voice a bit manic as though seeing me had bothered him even more than me seeing him. Why on earth was he being so strange, was he just mad to begin with?

"Who is your target?" I ignored his tone, hoping I could find out what he was doing.

"The lover of Anton Van Daken, he will be waiting in one of the side rooms until he's sure none of Anton's attendants are around." He answered, seemingly unconcerned about giving me the information. "I'm not after you or the nobles, I don't kill ranking nobles anymore."

 _"Anymore…"_

I felt myself snap, I was about to press my sword into his neck when he disappeared. I felt the displaced air behind me but I couldn't move fast enough. He slammed the hilt of his blade into my skull and the last thing I saw were dancing lights before I was enveloped by black.

 _The Outsider –_

It was easy enough, slipping over rooftops and jumping up to the next height. So much easier than trying to walk on the ground where some human or other was more likely to bother you. Easier even at night for me as I didn't have to worry about not being able to see as any other humans that may otherwise take this route over the top of the city as opposed to on its roads. Despite my disguise I wasn't keen on making my way through too many humans. I might look human there was little reason to push my presence unnecessarily.

I already had involved myself more than I should have. I knew that at least the Captain wouldn't press me, he'd seen enough to know that there was no escaping my wrath if I willed it. He would fall in and his crew was loyal enough to follow for at least the length this trip would take. It was if he would keep the information as to my identity silent…I doubted he would speak of it but humans had a bad habit of writing down information that others got their hands on.

It wasn't long after I left that I managed to follow the feeling in my chest to a side area of the city, it was a bit above some of the factories on a natural plateau. It gave some of the cities more well off citizens the ability to stay slightly out of the smog that was curled through its alleys. I slipped along a slanted bit of roof, flickering through shadows to a balcony on the opposite side of the road. The woman was close…she didn't live far from one of the shrines a nearby coven held. It wasn't her coven, but she was hoping to change that…just as well I got here before they'd made contact.

Traveling over the city didn't take long…longer than it would normally when I didn't have a physical form but swifter than any human all the same. Even those with my Mark couldn't use the powers they pulled from me with the same skill I did. Expected of course, but I lacked the same physical body to have had the practice they did. All the same, it was more a natural extension than an added tool. Using the things that marked would have to concentrate on came as easily as breathing most of the time.

Just as a runner slows when sprinting, if I used my powers in such a way I needed to pause and let them breathe. Unlike the mortals my energy regenerated from the area around me, I lingered over the edge as I rested, staring toward the building I expected Bethany to be in. Indeed, it was advertised as a tailor's shop, more high end than I first expected but she didn't own it, she just worked for someone that did judging by the name on the outside. The lights were still on but with the chill none of the windows were open. I would need to appear inside, but first I was looking to see if there was more than one mortal breathing in the walls.

There was another one, possibly the owner as they were on a different floor in what seemed an office. They were writing something. My target was on the lower floor, she was sewing and pretending to be a normal mortal quite well for someone with some understanding of the void. This separation of the void didn't seem to reach much father outside myself or Delilah from what I could tell. Those who I'd given a mark too could still call on power, and I could still feel the occasional pull of magics from others that studied the occult. I had a target, but getting her and returning her to the boat without causing a scene was my goal.

I waited a few more minutes, observing them. When there was no change in routine I stepped between the shadows, the wash of cold as I did was not much different than the evening temperature in Driscol. I had watched Corvo, Daud, and Emily all slip behind people and choke them down hundreds of times, which was just as well since I knew as my own arm wrapped around Bethany's neck that if I let up for even a moment she likely would fight her way free. Her hands clawed against my arm as she fought for breath but I waited, her attempt to break loose going limp before I lifted her over a shoulder. Humans were heavier than they looked…

I slipped through the shadow again, though it pulled more at me as I tugged the woman through with me. Her breath went ragged a moment from the cold but then we were moving, I had to return her to the boat after all. It all had gone smoothly enough…until I felt a familiar pull from the estate, two of them…at the same time. It was enough to cause me pause. I always felt some tug from those I'd marked or other individuals using occult magics, but when I focused on where I'd left Emily I was just in time to Daud's hilt meet with the back of her skull.

The boat became a trip for later. I shifted through the shadows, ignoring the fact that the distance involved would probably drain me again. I dropped Bethany in the hall of the manor even as I caught Emily before she could fall completely to the floor. My gaze enough to stop the assassin in his tracks. I didn't hold ill will to Daud, he was doing what came naturally to him…he was making his choice…but neither did I trust him not to kill another Empress after how coldly he'd run through Jessamine.

"…Outsider?" Daud's shocked expression was clear, the normally controlled man taking several steps back from me, running himself into the opposite wall as he did. A mouse looking for a way to escape a snake, though he didn't cry out his speaking my name had been louder than he normally would. He wanted to run away, but he was trapped by my gaze. Even with the lenses I wore he knew what lay beneath them, he knew very well and for the first time in a long time he was afraid.

"Go, don't return here when you are done." I answered him. It was lucky enough that none of the estates guards or servants had found us. I didn't wish to press my luck. "You'd think you'd give up this profession for all the turmoil it causes you."

I vanished with both women a moment later, leaving Daud to kill or not kill whoever he'd come here for, letting go of Bethany – who I'd transferred on the floor by touch and setting Emily in a bed. I sighed at her…what good was all her training if she couldn't best an assassin more than twice her age? I looked her over and eventually shook her gently.

"Emily…Emily wake up…" I was glad when she shocked to consciousness, even if she stared around in surprise and reached up to hold her head. I expect after that impact it probably wasn't comfortable. "Good, I was worried after that blow to the head."

I sat next to her, my mind dizzy after exerting my power in such swift spurts, it was harder to bring humans when I moved across space – they weren't normally built for it. In a physical form I wasn't really either but it was easy alone. I was exhausted again. Was this how humans felt if they sprinted well past their normal endurance? I suppose it was the closest comparison I had. I gestured toward the woman on the floor.

"What happened?" Emily asked.

"That…is the woman we need. Can you bind her and take her back to the ship?" I asked, half tempted to just sleep through the rest of her visit to Driscol. Then, she probably would just somehow get herself killed…why had she run after Daud like that? Flashes of the scene between them had been playing in my mind since I arrived. Little wonder Corvo had so many lines…would she have me there before long just playing the part her father always did?

"No, you said I was hit on the head…did you see it?" She asked.

"I did but I was still in the city when I looked back on you. It's why I had to bring the woman here instead of return her to the ship." I explained. "I saw Daud and I wasn't sure if he would…"

She slapped me. It was most unpleasant and surprising. I didn't see it coming in time to stop her and my head snapped to the side. I scowled at the sensation…turning my gaze back to hers about to speak when I realized she was crying…tears were already on her cheeks.

"You…you killed her…" She hissed, her tone having blackened. "You killed my mother with that…that assassin."

 **End Chapter**

A bit shorter of a chapter but that's where I wanted to end it and I've had limited time with family here. Emily has good reason to sort of be freaked out and jump to conclusions. The dude that stabbed her mom did have the outsider's mark and all. Poor Outsider, all judged for shit he didn't do. Probably won't get another chapter done til my family leaves.

 _-Aura_

To my reviewers:

 _Tigerfur_ – Emily sort of got a bit screwed – but then Daud is a bit more experienced with his powers than Emily. The Outsider didn't have a hard time, he was more like…wtf? He has to handle his marked fighting like a mom with kids hahaha.

 _DickChan_ – I have some theory's there too but they'll come up later in the fic so I don't wanna give spoilers. I remain a fan of the Outsider either way, I'm over here like: DLC guys, chop chop get on it.

 _Guest_ – It would be cute. I ship them harder than I should.


	16. Dislike

**Chapter Sixteen:** **_Dislike_**

 _"Just as fondness can so swiftly blossom to something more, can it be cut down by misunderstandings and divides. Affection can grow warm or cold as easily as a fall day, though generally once it grows cold, like the winter – it rarely warms again quickly."_

 _The Outsider –_

Why were humans always doing this? Must she overreact to everything in this manner?

I sighed.

"No I did not. I am not responsible for Daud's actions any more than I am for yours." I stated, this time I caught her hand before she could slap me again but the pain on her face softened my own irritation for her swiftness to be so aggressive.

"You knew! You knew who killed her and that he was…one of yours…and you didn't tell me." Emily wrenched her hand away, moving away from the bed where I was still sitting, leaning on my arms as though all of this made the world too heavy to fight getting up for. I hated how swiftly I was to blame, or why it was even an issue. What would it change?

 _Possibly everything…_

The thought wasn't comforting. I stared and she stared back. I could feel a rift growing between us, one that wouldn't be filled if I didn't do something, or say something. But I wasn't exactly sure what to say to her.

"Yes, Daud has my mark but I control him no more than I do you or your father. I can make suggestions but in the end people will act as they will." I stated. "I rarely ask for anything else. It is only in recent days that I've done more than observe or whisper."

"And you whispered to him to kill my mother?" She was shaking slightly, her arms wrapped around herself. Some part of that little girl at the tower had never fully left that night…the same way Aramus Stilton had never left when Delilah was reborn – a much smaller part in Emily's case but it was still there all the same.

"I did not. I rarely spoke with Daud in those days, and nor did he seek me out until after he'd already finished it." I answered.

"Then you let him go…just now…why?" She was still somewhere between wanting to trust me and wanting to hate me…it was so much easier for humans to hate…

"Why would I not? I stopped him from harming you, and I told him never to return. I doubt he'll ever try to be anywhere near you again." What more could I do than tell her the truth?

"He killed my mother." She hissed.

"Vengeance is not a pretty color on you Emily. Daud also safeguarded your life." I answered her. It was hard but I pushed against gravity to stand up, though I only got a step closer before she'd backed several more away.

"Stop, don't touch me." She held up a hand, holding her ground after those couple of steps. It hurt more than I would care to admit how swiftly she had turned to being disgusted by my touch. "What do you mean he safeguarded my life? He ruined it."

"After his assassination of Jessamine at the behest of Delilah's group Delilah started to target you, when you were still a child. She planned to use her magic to rip out your soul and replace it with her own, ruling from your skin." I explained the history in more detail. I suppose it was something I would have told her eventually but now seemed more relevant. "Daud regretted what happened with your mother, and when he spoke with me I told him of the plan…what Delilah had in store for you. He saved you, he didn't have to but he did all the same."

"But, you could have told someone what Daud was going to do." She said after my description. "You say you're neutral but you stepped in with Corvo after mother died, you stepped in for me with this assassin, you stepped in for me again with Delilah. Why? Why would you do that? You could have just saved my mother."

"I don't work that way." It wasn't what she wanted to hear. I knew it, but it didn't change the facts. "I shouldn't be helping you here, in the real world, but I must. Daud being here changes little, this all was no less true before you saw him than now."

"My knowledge of it is certainly new!" She snapped. "You could have saved my mother and that means nothing to you? It doesn't compute why I would be livid at this new information? You stepped in to save me how many times but you couldn't step out for her once?"

"I do the best I can with the information I have without ruling over people Emily." I answered tiredly.

"But Delilah…you made her too…everything horrible with my family was because you gave the wrong people power." Emily accused, and I supposed that much I couldn't argue with.

"I am not infallible, I've made mistakes. Sometimes yes, I get involved…but often to avoid the worst possible options or to fix my own mistakes. Delilah became a poor option years ago, no matter what she may have been once…I regret giving her my mark." I meant it, while Delilah may have once been incredible…I'd seen what she was now…now little she'd ended up being at the end.

"But you…" Emily paused and took a breath, rubbing her temples and clearly trying to stay calm despite how agitated she was. "You did it all. It's because of you. You knew all that and you still..."

Her voice cracked, imitating what seemed to be happening to us right now. It was thick with emotion when she spoke again. "You still pursued me like this, for whatever our weird relationship is…you knew all this and you didn't tell me. What more horrible things are you just forgetting to mention?"

"Emily." I sighed and sat back down, clearly, she didn't want me to embrace her and it was starting to become difficult to retain consciousness again. "You need to decide what you want. I am not and nor have I ever claimed to be perfect, without regret, or without secrets. You knew who I am, what I am, when you also chased me…did you think I wouldn't notice? The long stares, the pink cheeks…Artemus Wigmund? What I recognize and what I don't point out is a long list your highness."

"Those aren't the same things as knowing my mother's killer, as giving him the same power you give to me…and you should damn well know it!" She yelled back at me toward the end of her statement, apparently starting to lose any care if we were walked in on despite the kidnapped woman still knocked out on the floor. Though she grew quieter as she seemed to think about it, I could still hear her next questions, the bitterness infused in her voice. "Was it just like Wyman? It wasn't relevant?"

"Yes, if you must know. I planned to explain it all eventually but finishing our task was more paramount than discussing a past that cannot be changed." I told her, knowing she'd just dislike the answer but I wasn't going to lie. That wasn't who I was, even for her.

"Why not? You changed it with Stilton, couldn't you change it with mother?" She pressed.

"No, there are some things that can't be changed." I answered.

"But couldn't we try? After everything…when we get you back." She finally had closed the distance between us to grab my arms, having latched onto this idea that she might be able to revive her mother.

"For one, Stilton had not died yet, his path wasn't at an end before it was altered. For another, these are major events in this world now. Your mother played a central role to what the world now is." I replied, explaining as best I could. "Attempting to alter her past, somehow summon back her spirit, it could unravel the fabric of everything. It was your mother's death that set into motion every event that stopped Delilah from taking power. If her assassination disappears then every other plot would change, the outcomes would all change, the world would change."

"But it's possible?" I hated to kill all that hope.

"No Emily, it's not. I care about you, deeply…but I will not sacrifice so many for the sake of your mother's possible survival." I replied with a negative shake of my head. "I will protect you as best I can while I am here and until I am returned to the void…but then I…"

I didn't want to say it out loud. It felt like saying it out loud would somehow put it into stone, would make it as unchangeable as Jessamine's fate. Yet, Jessamine's death had allowed for Emily's survival, for her life to continue…the sacrifice of Jessamine's soul from the heart…it had let them defeat Delilah. The death had also been the factor that convinced Daud to save Emily as a child…if she wanted to hate me for it fine…but I wouldn't touch her mother's past.

"You'll leave." She closed that hanging statement for me. Her voice was surprised, which by itself was surprising after her animated protests. "You…why did you even do all this if you always planned to leave?"

"I didn't plan to leave, with your sentiments just now I expected it would be best." I was tired, tired of all of this…the emptiness of the void seemed somewhat welcoming at this point. "I don't know what you want from me Emily."

"I want you to tell me when things affect me, or if you think they're going to affect me. I want you to not act like my mother's death is just nothing, or that it is unreasonable for me to want her back. I want you to tell me you didn't plan it all, that you didn't kill my mother to stop Delilah and save me." She hissed a swift series of answers, still angry and excited. "I want…for you not to just give up every time I get angry with you."

I smirked a bit, I couldn't quite help it. I was letting myself get as carried away as she did, was this me being tired or a result of this unwanted human form? Perhaps both. Either way I didn't like it…I nodded to her and patted the bed. I lacked the energy to get up again. At least this time she tentatively sat. I took her hands, glad she let me.

"Emily. I will try to tell you when I believe something will bother you emotionally but clearly I can't always tell. I do not think your mother's death was nothing, she saved the world if you consider the details that is far from nothing. I did not plan for your mother to die for any purpose, I don't plan peoples deaths." I stated honestly, as passionately as I could still fighting to stay awake. "I will never give up on you…but neither will I ever force you to stay."

"Well sometimes you should…force me to stay." Emily answered but I only heard part of it. I could hear her yelling at me a moment later, and calling me horrible amidst some other colorful language…but unconsciousness was no longer willing to stay at bay.

 _Emily –_

It was his mark, it was the same symbol that had burned into my hand. I shared the same mark with the man that had murdered my mother. It made me feel sick, more so that he knew about it! He had put that mark on my hand when one of his other little favorites had been the one to shove the sword through my mother's gut…I couldn't help it. I slapped him! It felt good when my hand shocked his face. I accused him of being behind it, I didn't know what else to do…this was unacceptable…why wouldn't he have told me after all this time…

"No I did not. I am not responsible for Daud's actions any more than I am for yours." He stated, stopping me from slapping him again. How dare he act so careless about it, he sounded like he was bored…as if he'd rather lay down than explain.

"You knew!" I spit it out, I wanted to hit him again but I knew he'd stop me. Instead I wrenched my hand away and backed away from the bed where he sat. "You knew you killed her and that he was…one of yours…and you didn't tell me!"

He watched me quietly a moment, appearing sad, tired…he'd used a bunch of energy again, he'd just stated such…but I didn't care. I wanted him to talk about this now…I would stab him before I'd let him just fall asleep without answering me.

"Yes, Daud has my mark but I control him no more than I do you or your father. I can make suggestions but in the end people will act as they will." He repeated. "I rarely ask for anything else. It is only in recent days that I've done more than observe or whisper."

"And you whispered to him to kill my mother?" I shook slightly at the thought. I had been growing close to…the mastermind behind my mother's death? What then, was I just some woman taken in by his looks? No, he'd seemed like he cared…but this…why would he have kept this a secret?

"I did not. I rarely spoke with Daud in those days, and nor did he seek me out until after he'd already finished it." He replied simply. I felt a small part of myself relax a little. At the very least it made me feel less physically ill. I hadn't been building a relationship with my mother's killer.

"Then you let him go…just now…why?" I didn't know what to think. I doubted he was lying, but why was he still helping this assassin?

"Why would I not? I stopped him from harming you, and I told him never to return. I doubt he'll ever try to be anywhere near you again."

"He killed my mother." I hissed.

"Vengeance is not a pretty color on you Emily. Daud also safeguarded your life." His answer was insulting and confusing all at once. What did he mean the assassin safeguarded my life? I backed up when he got up and started to move closer. I didn't want him close, I needed time to think, to act. I didn't trust myself to do that if he was too close.

"Stop, don't touch me." I held up a hand once I'd gotten a safe distance between us. I needed to hear this story before I could start to figure out what to think of it all. All of this about my mother was always right there and he didn't tell me. "What do you mean he safeguarded my life? He ruined it."

"After his assassination of Jessamine at the behest of Delilah's group Delilah started to target you, when you were still a child. She planned to use her magic to rip out your soul and replace it with her own, ruling from your skin." He explained slowly. He looked more tired all the time, the circles around his eyes were deepening. He'd teleported clear across the city then? With the other woman…but no…I couldn't let this go yet. I refused to stop and be concerned about him when he couldn't have taken the time to tell me this sooner. "Daud regretted what happened with your mother, and when he spoke with me I told him of the plan…what Delilah had in store for you. He saved you, he didn't have to but he did all the same."

"But, you could have told someone what Daud was going to do." I pointed out. "You say you're neutral but you stepped in with Corvo after mother died, you stepped in for me with this assassin, you stepped in for me again with Delilah. Why? Why would you do that? You could have just saved my mother."

"I don't work that way." He said with a shake of his head. "I shouldn't be helping you here, in the real world, but I must. Daud being here changes little, this all was no less true before you saw him than now."

"My knowledge of it is certainly new!" I snapped. "You could have saved my mother and that means nothing to you? It doesn't compute why I would be livid at this new information? You stepped in to save me how many times but you couldn't step out for her once?"

"I do the best I can with the information I have without ruling over people Emily." He had told me this before, but it was always hard to accept. He could do so much good…

"But Delilah…you made her too…everything horrible with my family was because you gave the wrong people power." I accused, I felt he could have done more to help. Then I didn't press cause the mark on my hand, the one that had once been on Corvo's hand, already proved he had.

"I am not infallible, I've made mistakes. Sometimes yes, I get involved…but often to avoid the worst possible options or to fix my own mistakes. Delilah became a poor option years ago, no matter what she may have been once…I regret giving her my mark." He stated honestly, I knew he wasn't lying. For as much as I despised that he hadn't told me all this sooner it wasn't in his nature to lie.

"But you…" I paused and took a breath, rubbing my temples and trying to make sense of it. "You did it all. It's because of you. You knew all that and you still..."

My voice cracked, I hated it, this weakness. The fact that I was so angry and yet I still cared so much about what he was doing, what he'd done. I knew there was still emotion in my voice when I managed to speak again. "You still pursued me like this, for whatever our weird relationship is…you knew all this and you didn't tell me. What more horrible things are you just forgetting to mention?"

"Emily." He sighed and sat back down, it was obvious he was fighting to stay awake again. The real world was having more a toll on him than he was admitting. "You need to decide what you want. I am not and nor have I ever claimed to be perfect, without regret, or without secrets. You knew who I am, what I am, when you also chased me…did you think I wouldn't notice? The long stares, the pink cheeks…Artemus Wigmund? What I recognize and what I don't point out is a long list your highness."

I knew that would come back to bite me.

"Those aren't the same things as knowing my mother's killer, as giving him the same power you give to me…and you should damn well know it!" I was almost yelling at the end of my comments. Then I grew quieter, still so angry at just his attitude. "Was it just like Wyman? It wasn't relevant?"

"Yes, if you must know. I planned to explain it all eventually but finishing our task was more paramount than discussing a past that cannot be changed." He admitted openly.

"Why not? You changed it with Stilton, couldn't you change it with mother?" I felt a bit of hope at this situation for the first time. What if it could work the same way? Maybe it wouldn't with Wyman but mother had been somewhere where magic was used…the outsider's magic.

"No, there are some things that can't be changed." He answered.

"But couldn't we try? After everything…when we get you back." I gave up on staying back, walking up to grab his arms. Could he help save my mother after the fact? I stared at him, hoping he could tell me it was possible.

"For one, Stilton had not died yet, his path wasn't at an end before it was altered. For another, these are major events in this world now. Your mother played a central role to what the world now is." He said, as if trying to explain why trying wasn't a good idea. "Attempting to alter her past, somehow summon back her spirit, it could unravel the fabric of everything. It was your mother's death that set into motion every event that stopped Delilah from taking power. If her assassination disappears then every other plot would change, the outcomes would all change, the world would change."

"But it's possible?" I had to know.

"No Emily, it's not. I care about you, deeply…but I will not sacrifice so many for the sake of your mother's possible survival." He said seriously, shaking his head at the concept. So he could do it, or at least he could try it…but he refused. "I will protect you as best I can while I am here and until I am returned to the void…but then I…"

But then he what? I frowned at the leading of that. Was that all this would amount to? I would get him back to the void and I wouldn't see him anymore? As angry as I was at him, that wasn't what I wanted. "You'll leave. You…why did you even do all this if you always planned to leave?"

"I didn't plan to leave, with your sentiments just now I expected it would be best." He sounded exhausted, as though he were fighting just to keep speaking to me. "I don't know what you want from me Emily."

"I want you to tell me when things affect me, or if you think they're going to affect me. I want you to not act like my mother's death is just nothing, or that it is unreasonable for me to want her back. I want you to tell me you didn't plan it all, that you didn't kill my mother to stop Delilah and save me." I said as fast as I could, having so much I wished I could say but able to see he was fading away for the time being. I didn't know how long he would be out this time, why did he keep doing this? "I want…for you not to just give up every time I get angry with you."

He smiled, the jerk. If he hadn't taken my hands a moment later I may have slapped him again.

"Emily. I will try to tell you when I believe something will bother you emotionally but clearly I can't always tell. I do not think your mother's death was nothing, she saved the world if you consider the details that is far from nothing. I did not plan for your mother to die for any purpose. I don't plan peoples deaths." He said with an earnestness that was hard to ignore. Angry or not I couldn't just give up on him... "I will never give up on you…but neither will I ever force you to stay."

"Well sometimes you should…force me to stay." I replied, making sure my exact point was across. Then I frowned as I caught him, he was already losing consciousness after his comments. Did he always have to do this? "Outsider, you are such a horrible narcistic secretive sentimental…jerk."

Of course, he wasn't hearing any of it. I sighed and pushed him back in the bed. I let his legs still just stay hanging off. Perhaps I was willing to forgive him but I was still mad. Let him wake up with achy legs. I glanced to the woman on the floor who was starting to stir and sighed, I'd have to knock her out again and take her to the ship. For being the empress, I felt like I was doing all the footwork…

 **End Chapter**

Drama, drama, drama…and what the hell outsider. You must stop just randomly passing out…that's not conducive to Emily's shot nerves! They both have such sad lives XD

 _-Aura_

To my reviewers:

 _The Whispering Sage_ – Heh well, I can't imagine his skill set lends well to other jobs? Besides, he did say he wasn't killing high-ranking nobles anymore. That's a step? And well…she sort of…

 _DickChan_ – Well he was involved but I actually look at his involvement more like a tool than personally pushing the assassination. He gave someone the power and then they used it. It's no different than someone who invented guns. The guy that made them shouldn't be blamed for every gun used to kill someone. As for the DLC, it felt to me like it would end up being Billie but hard to say what they'll do. I'm excited for it either way.


	17. Planning

**Chapter Seventeen:** **_Planning_**

 _"The best laid plans can be turned to dust by the smallest grain of sand. Cities can fall, people can be destroyed, by minute unpredictable details unforeseeable to them. A wonder people make plans at all given how swiftly they can be rendered mute. No surprise that a plan that survives to fruition is so celebrated, it deserves every toast and cheer."_

 _Emily –_

"This is the largest of our factories, it builds many of the pipes and connections for buildings all over the empire." Anton was explaining and I followed along. I was doing my best to focus on what he was explaining to me, as it was important…but it was difficult. I doubted I'd gotten even an hour of sleep when the attendants came to make sure I was prepared for breakfast and the tour I'd requested of the cities facilities. I had a different guard at my side since the Outsider was unconscious back at the estate. I explained that he'd caught someone trying to sneak into the manner and that I was taking them back to the capital for questioning and imprisonment. The Duke and his son hadn't argued the fact and provided another set of guards but I hated not knowing the people that were supposed to be watching my back. More so when I was fighting to put forward a strong front and felt anything but being half-exhausted and full of anxiety about what had happened…

I was starting to understand what a love-hate relationship was for the first time.

Staying conscious enough to listen was difficult enough but focusing on the words while trying not to worry about my personal difficulties in my relationship with the outsider made the day nearly impossible. I knew that I was coming off as distracted at times but I was truly trying not to daydream or ignore the troubles here. Driscol honestly had done better than Serkonos or Dunwall but it deserved my attention no less than those places. I certainly couldn't let them know my trip here had always been just a cover for something else.

"So, you need more ore from the southern isles." I remarked, having been paying enough attention to have some idea as to how I could help. "Hopefully we can start working out more trade where everyone gets things they need fairly for all involved."

"That is always the hope." Anton gave the political answer, the one that he was expected to…but he also had seemed distracted today. Had Daud done something then? I hadn't heard anything that morning about a disturbance at all, the household seemed none the wiser as to the actions inside of it the night before. I doubted Anton would be so calm if his lover had been killed. Was he quiet and thoughtful because he knew his father was planning to ask for my hand?

"Empress, may I ask, are you well? You look quite tired, we can take a break for an early lunch if you like." He suggested as we finished the tour of the factory, it had all sort of blended together this morning. I remembered bits and pieces but it was difficult. I nodded to the suggestion. What good was all of this if I was too tired to remember it? "My father mentioned meeting us at one of the restaurants along the way to our next destination if he had the time. Do you mind?"

I didn't like that they were plotting all this around me and pretending it to be convenient but I could hardly refuse. Besides, perhaps I could find something to help me wake up. I didn't like the lack of my Royal Protector, even if it was just a farce he wasn't exactly holding to his side of the bargain. I had to admit I was concerned for a multitude of reasons…and while I knew I could protect myself I was in a city not my own in the care of nobles that had little reason to safeguard me beyond the promises I was only now making. My Royal Protector not being present made me look weak…but they had thus far been kind enough not to point that out.

"I don't mind." I answered, realizing I'd let a slightly longer pause settle than I should have. "I apologize Anton, it's been quite the trip and I'm not quite accustomed to some of my attendants."

"Yes, I heard your Royal Protector was sick along the way as well. Then about the issue last night that he had. I am glad you are all right." Anton expressed, not for the first time, his sentiments as to my wellbeing. He came off as genuine enough but enough time in the shadows had me hesitant to believe the best of anyone. "Are you planning to keep him after this trip? It seems not the best show of his abilities."

"I am not sure honestly." I lied smoothly enough when I wanted to. "He is quite skilled but as you say it is difficult if this is the sort of constitution I should expect."

"A sore situation, we can speak of something else of course." Anton stated, changing the subject forcibly but for my supposed benefit. "The restaurant is one of the best in the city. A lot of people enjoy it, I know we aren't exactly known for our food in Driscol but there are some soups that the chefs work with involving whales that are quite delectable. I think you'll be surprised."

"I hope to enjoy it." I answered. If it tasted half as good as he was trying to build it up I probably would be, after the food I'd tried at the palace. As much as I wished to help Driscol, they had earned their reputation for bland flavor. "I haven't actually had many whale dishes so it will be good to try it."

For all the isles used whale, foods made from them were generally considered lower class in the capital and many of the other cities in my Empire. I couldn't state that my lack of having tried them was that the palace chefs wouldn't be caught dead making them. Then when I was out about Serkonos I wasn't exactly concerned about spreading out my culinary experience. I had too much going on to be concerned about it. Even now I really wasn't overly interested when without all the stress I probably would have been, I enjoyed trying new things genuinely but it was hard to find much enjoyment this way.

"Do you like to try different foods?" He asked, keeping with our new neutral but polite topic of conversation.

"I do, do you?" I repeated it back, playing the game.

"When I can…though, as you are aware, food isn't much of a focus in Driscol. It's only been in the last few years that new places with different foods started to become more popular. I hope that the trend continues however, it's been good for morale." Anton explained. He may not have much of a personal investment but he wanted it for his people. I could understand that much.

"Artemus…we weren't expecting you." My eyes shot up toward where I heard the fake name. One of the guards walking with us had spoken up and sure enough it was the Outsider in his disguise walking up toward me.

"Wigmund, is everything all right?" I managed to make it sound smoother.

"Of course, I apologize for my lateness." He answered, playing the part. I didn't know what to say or to think. I couldn't discuss the things I'd like to. Not with Anton there. I turned back to the noble.

"It seems we've been caught up to." I remarked. "Reminds me of when I tried to sneak off as a child."

Anton laughed at my comment. "I expect you did that often then. I only wandered off from father once or twice but guards were never far behind. I rarely tried to escape them. But I think you must have many interesting stories."

"More than I can say." I replied, smiling a bit despite myself at the mischievous attitude he adopted so easily. Perhaps he wasn't as dour as I first believed.

"I look forward to hearing a few of them sometime." He answered, nodding toward one of the buildings we were walking toward. "This is it. With the other guards I can assume father's already arrived."

 _"This was planned…"_ The voice was light, still a whisper in my ear even though the Outsider still followed several steps behind. He had lots of tricks, didn't he? _"The Duke will ask you during or after the dinner to take his sons hand."_

"It looks nice." I complimented after we entered. It wasn't amazing but it was clean and high end but with an area for those with less money to sit at a long bar along the outside…it could separate the rich and poor clientele while still providing to both that way. Was that the sort of segregation people were just accustomed to now? I glanced around, then paused when Anton began to head upstairs. "Excuse me a moment to speak with my protector and use the facilities."

"Of course, your highness, I'll see you upstairs." He left with his gaurds, motioning the extras that had been spared for me after him. At least he respected my right to as much privacy as I could have in a busy restaurant.

"Is the Duke going to be pissed if I refuse?" I asked lowly to the Outsider once people were out of earshot. "How delicate do I need to be?"

"He won't be happy." The Outsider dropped his voice just as I had, glancing around and back to me. "He'll accept it either way but don't expect much support from him in coming weeks if you say no. The marriage appears happy enough on Anton's end…assuming you let him have his lover come along and allow him the subtle relationship."

"You can see him in the case I say yes?" I frowned a bit at the idea. Though as much as it set me on edge slightly I wasn't sure I could afford to refuse. "What if I say no?"

"Eventually the Duke will have Anton's lover killed. Then Anton will drop into depression and cease to pay attention to his duties in Driscol…he'll die alone." The Outsider spoke the depressing remark as though it was no more strange than commenting on the weather. It could rain or this guys life could be destroyed by a question I needed to make.

"How am I supposed to say no if I know it could destroy him?" I hissed at the Outsider. Sometimes there were things I could have gone without knowing. "Are you really okay with me agreeing to marry someone?"

"It seems a fair enough match, neither of you are truly in love with the other. You both mean well, you both would accept other relationships as long as they were subtle, you both care about your people. An engagement would benefit Dunwall and you, why would I not accept it?" He answered with the same calm he usually did. "Did we not discuss that?"

"Yes…but you didn't tell me that his father was trying to kill Anton's lover." I replied. "This would have been good to know more than two minutes before he might press me for the engagement."

"I didn't know until last night." The Outsider replied. "Besides, did you not wish to know more details."

"Yes…" I sighed, this wasn't quite what I meant but I appreciated it all the same. Damn, I couldn't just pretend I was sick and escape the question forever. I split from the Outsider to use the restroom, washing my face and hands and staring at myself in the mirror. I couldn't keep putting this off…was I really thinking about accepting an engagement right now? The Outsider seemed to think it would wrap up many problems in a neat little bow but that still meant I had to have a lot of conversations…but how could I refuse knowing that it would destroy the boy? Was this the sort of information the Outsider dealt with all the time? Was that why he was so jaded to it all?

I headed back out and up to the private room the Duke had reserved for us all, taking a seat next to Anton with the Outsider not far off, he was next to the young girl that thought him a witch…that would go well. Who planned this seating?

"Sorry I'm a bit late, I didn't realize you'd be bringing the whole family." I stated. "I'm happy to see you all though."

Kiya looked as though she didn't want to be here, and was barely looking at anyone, more or less me. Natalia was staring already at the Outsider and I was doing my best to ignore the tenseness of the environment. Clearly they expected something was coming, other than the youngest. I smiled all the same, I had to put on a strong face.

"We're happy to have you." The Duke repeated. "I hope you'll enjoy the food here, I took the liberty of ordering a series of small tastings for you to try. I know you have a busy schedule so I thought it would make things faster and easier."

"It sounds good." I answered, picking up the pear soda they had set in front of me. After all the walking, it was a nice refreshment. "I am glad we have the chance to speak more. I was hoping we could discuss your hopes for trade agreements involving the ore you are shore of that the south has."

"Of course," The Duke replied.

I managed to alter the course of the conversation toward trade as we snacked on different samples of various soups they made here. I was surprised at how good things were, it was though we weren't in Driscol at all given the quality. I smiled at the ease of which we spoke of possible trades to be made and information I could take when this tour took me through the south and how I could help set up an agreement that could help multiple cities in my nation. We were so engaged in the conversation that I was hoping with the time that had passed Christian would wait to offer his son. But that was expecting too much.

"I appreciate all the talk of trade, but there was something more serious I was hoping to ask you your majesty." The Duke's statement made me feel like a noose was being drawn around my neck.

"Of course," I took another drink of the soda, lamenting that it was almost empty.

"I wished to enquire where you stood on the matters of marriage. I have heard word of the unfortunate fate of your last engagement and while I wouldn't wish to push you overly much I believe Anton would make a good choice. Obviously, I am a bit bias, but he is well thought of among our people and it could bring some security to the country during this difficult time." The Duke remarked. I hated to admit that much was true. If I were to marry, to really set not just myself but a second person in charge of the country it would offer a greater security to my people.

Kaya was glaring at me, perhaps she expected I would accept…that I was taking another member of her family away from her. Natalia squealed at the question and put her hand over her mouth as though she hadn't known at all. Anton meanwhile was quiet a moment but spoke before I could come up with what I wanted to say.

"Father, you are putting the Empress on the spot. "Anton stated. "She just lost a fiancé, I doubt she wants to immediately shop for another."

"I would at least like some time to consider the offer." I remarked. I didn't know how to say yes but I wasn't willing to say no yet either. Not with the prediction of death made by the Outsider hanging over me. "I will certainly consider it…Anton is of a good age and he seems nice and well liked. I will give you an answer before I leave on my ship back up to Dunwall before continuing my tour."

"Good, good." It wasn't a refusal so apparently, it was enough to keep Christian sated for the time being. "I am glad you wish to take it so seriously your highness. You are certainly stepping up and we look forward to supporting you from Driscol no matter your answer."

 _The Outsider –_

"It was a lie." I stated to Emily later. She'd expressed hope that just her consideration would be enough to save Anton and his lover from his father's displeasure should Emily refuse Anton but that wasn't the future I could see.

"I thought Christian wasn't that horrible at first…seems they all take me in." Emily complained. She was rubbing her feet, and looked as ready to pass out as I had the night before. She'd finished her day's tours but Anton had avoided the topic of marriage throughout. "Will his son end up being just as horrible?"

"Anything is possible but doubtful." I replied, moving over to take her foot and massage it for her. "If you let him have his lover he'll be quite content just to help the state and keep up appearances, he's wanted to do little else all his life than have those two things."

"And then he should naturally accept any side affairs I'd wish to have." Emily's voice was a bit sour as she leaned back, she didn't protest my touch but she did hesitate a moment. She eyed her wine glass instead of me. "Did you plan that too? This whole trip works out so well for you."

"Do you think so?" I asked curiously. "I am not enjoying myself."

Emily laughed at my comment, looking at me again. "So here we are, aren't we quite the pair."

"Yes." I replied.

"You take things too seriously." Emily remarked. She was on her third glass and exhausted, she wasn't quite as composed as she would be otherwise.

"Less than you might think but as much as is needed." I smiled at her playful attitude all the same, I had seen little of it lately with all we'd argued and for as simple as this scene was I still appreciated it…I would lack this soon enough…I would have to call her to me instead of being with her in this world.

"I am still mad, about mom…but I get it. I know it wasn't you." She said, suddenly soberer at the remark. "I…don't want to change us…whatever this strange thing we have is…because of that. I guess maybe it's selfish…to want to be with you after all that has happened…with what you are…but I do."

"Thank you, Emily, I care about you as well." I said, glad for the sentiment. I knew it was probably hard for her to say. I wouldn't ask for or expect an apology. I expect to some degree she was justified in her frustrations and anger…I was instead more grateful for the short time we had. It was tempting to leave Delilah to her torment, to let her suffer for her actions…but then she might change her mind and who knew what keeping this separation up would do to the void. I'd felt it starting to leak past the seal that had been created but it was slow. I had to fix things after we returned to Dunwall. I had less than a week before I'd give up this mortal guise.

"I think you should marry the boy." I stated. "You know all the reasons."

"Yes. I expected you did." Emily answered, but not bitterly. "I think I'll probably have to, I don't have a lot of choice really. I can't just let him suffer. Doesn't it bother you to see things you could fix and to do nothing."

"I chose a long time ago not to push myself on the world often. I only give a handful of people in any given generation abilities but I don't control them." I answered.

"But you could." She guessed.

"Yes, if I desired I could control people the same way the powers I offer others can give that control…but I don't and nor will I in the future." I switched to her other foot, smiling at the way she let out a small moan at the attention. "When I was forged into being one with the void I decided that I would not use my powers to inflict my will on others. I will not alter that."

"It is honorable I suppose." Emily stated, begrudgingly. "I couldn't have that sort of willpower, but then I guess that's why I'm not the godlike one."

I smiled this time, almost laughing at her comment. "I am not a god, though I won't argue that I'm something more than human."

"Fair enough…how is our prisoner?" She seemed to remember that we'd gotten the target we'd come here for already. She'd had a busy day.

"She is unconscious, as I expect you should be. You are going to wear yourself out if you don't let yourself sleep." I said, setting her foot down and lifting her to carry her to the bed despite her squeak of protest. "You've done much to take care of me this trip. Let me return the favor."

"I have things I want to do." Emily protested, though her eyes were already starting to close. I smiled at her attitude. I understood that sentiment of being mortal at least. I knew well after the past week being mortal how uncomfortable the need for sleep was. I kissed her forehead, setting her in her bed and pulling up her covers the way she'd done for me. We had two more days before we would leave again for the capital…and my time as a human would be done.

I wasn't looking as forward to it as I had once been…

 **End Chapter**

So, I'm pretty sure for a strange god of darkness, the Outsider would be super sweet in a relationship…like he's sweeter than pretty much any character I write for. Amusing considering he's a symbol of like all dark horrible things in Dishonored hahaha.

 _-Aura_

To my reviewers:

The Whispering Sage – LOL yeah, well, relationships. Emily also sort of has been under a lot of pressure.


	18. Aid

**Chapter Eighteen:** ** _Aid_**

 _"It is no small thing, to reach out and touch someone, to offer them aid when no one else would. You are the savior, the light, the water to a parched man in need of kindness. For people require that closeness, that aid, as assuredly as they do sustenance. A spirit lives and dies on the help one receives, and that one offers."_

 _The Outsider –_

Another day passed.

It was uneventful for me compared to most. I waited near Emily for the most part, playing the role I'd been given. She was incredible…she had so much going on but she was able to focus on this and try to help the general workers and people in Driscol. Such a change to the empress day dreaming on a throne a few months before now. She had forged herself into a weapon after Delilah had thrown her in a fire…not without help but impressive all the same. How many others would have given up or run away? Certainly, she'd been tempted but here she was, even though this trip was an act she was using it to improve her people, her empire.

I heard everything, but much of it I didn't focus on heavily, only here and there did I offer her a whisper of advice if there were unforeseeable circumstances in the discussions happening. It probably made her seem a bit fickle but it didn't matter, I could communicate with her without people seeing it. She hadn't even realized it. That I was pausing time long enough to whisper to her, and her mind caught up to it when I began it again. It was a trick mixed with magic, but it functioned for what I wanted all the same.

As impressive as Emily was to watch in action, I was glad when the day came to an end, by the end of the evening tomorrow we would be leaving on our ship. I was both glad for it and not, the getting closer to returning things to the natural order. The way they should be. I didn't wish to let go of Emily at the same time, I knew I would still be close to her that I would keep her near but I wouldn't have her in the same aspect as I could with a physical body.

"You've seemed distracted all day." She pointed out as soon as the attendants left the room, leaving us alone. She sat and began to take off her boots, the usual routine she kept when she was done for the day. "Are you all right?"

"There is much to consider." I answered. It was a nearly programmed response, something cryptic and true without offering anything of substance. I wasn't certain how to express to her some of the concerns I had. It was unlike me. The more I stayed in this form the more it was influencing me to act like I would not normally. I didn't like it…I felt less and less like myself as the days continued…and I wanted more and more. Wanted things I couldn't reasonable have…I turned the conversation before she could press me on it. "What of Anton, did you not wish to speak to him before you answered his father?"

Emily rolled her eyes and let out a frustrated tick of her tongue at the subject. "I tried. Anton has been escorting me but outright avoiding the subject of our possible engagement. He seems afraid of it, and that doesn't help at all. Even if I'm going to marry someone not for love, I need someone that can stand up for my people, that has a backbone."

"His fright is justified is it not? He fears for his lover, that his father will have the boy killed regardless of your answer just to keep him controlled." I explained, leaning near Emily and helping her with her boots. Taking her foot to rub it between my fingers, this ability to feel…to touch…I wanted to indulge in it while I could, before everything became muted again by the void.

"Yes, but he doesn't give me the chance to even speak to him. How am I to resolve anything for either of us if I can't present him with my solution?" Emily complained half-heartedly as she closed her eyes a moment at the massage, letting herself enjoy the touch as much as I did offering it.

"I can take you to him, if it will help. You could speak to him now." I suggested. "The Duke is obsessed with this idea…he projects his own loneliness after his wife's death. He believes his son must have a wife, and doesn't understand or want to understand that his son has never felt alone with Nathanial."

"Nathanial?" She asked.

"The lover's name." I explained. "If you refuse, I expect Nathanial's head will roll before our ship is out of the dock. The Duke will believe it's the only way to save his son from being alone, all the while condemning him to it. Humans are confusing."

"Yes, well, that much is true." Emily replied, sighing. She didn't accept immediately because she didn't want to. She wasn't ready to give up her own single station even if she knew it was better for her empire overall. "I suppose I'll have to speak with him since his father wants an answer tomorrow. This ruse of yours, I hope it works."

"If you offer it to him, he'll accept." I assured.

"For someone not omniscient you sure seem to know exactly what will happen." Emily remarked, eyes half-lidded and voice a bit thicker than usual. She wasn't used to someone massaging her feet for her but she didn't seem to mind it.

"One doesn't have to be omniscient to still be able to read people." I reasoned with a small shrug. "If I had the option to remain by your side so easily, I would take it as well."

"Yes, but Anton isn't you." Emily smiled at me all the same for the remark. "Besides, you aren't exactly leaving, and you don't have the same option. Who is projecting now?"

"That is possible." I admitted, though I didn't like the idea. "Though I still remain confident that he'll agree. He'll want us to arrange Nathanial's safety tonight…we'll get little rest again if you speak to him now."

That earned me a small groan of displeasure. "Are you even trying to sell me on this idea? I'm not sure my Empire is worth giving up being spoiled by you."

"There is much more or you I'd like to indulge my Empress, but I agreed to aid you and protect you first and foremost." I replied. I wasn't lying. It was not easy on me either to let go of her, to agree to take her to another person as opposed to staying here with her while I had the time. "On the boat this trip I plan to let you escape exceptionally little from your quarters."

She was blushing at my forward remark, she hadn't expected it. Then, it wasn't like me to make plans in that way. She looked as if she wasn't sure if she wanted to give up on her plan with Anton and just stay here. If she made that choice, and closed the distance between us, I wasn't sure my own patience would hold out. Duty was quite unforgiving at times. I pulled her between the shadows before she could press our attraction to more activity than we could afford right now. I left her at Anton's door, choosing to watch from the darkness unseen.

 _"Soon…"_ I whispered, amused at the glare she shot behind her at the comment. Still, she didn't protest further, she knew as well as I did entertaining our desire did nothing to promote the country right now. She knocked on the door, ready to present her case, our case, for a marriage that would function to aid Dunwall and the Empire, no matter how loveless.

 _Emily –_

 _Not soon enough…_

The Outsider's ability to tease me seemed as eternal as he was…I certainly wondered if I wouldn't give up the Empire just to have the time to satisfy my want of him. It was dangerous how much I still wanted to be near him despite everything I'd learned. For all our arguments we continued this enticing dance more strongly than before, circling ever closer to one another. He'd left me on the doorstep of who he claimed would be my future fiancé and I could only think of him and that single word of whispered promise.

I shook my head, forcing myself back to the present. As much as I disliked it right now, the Outsider was right, I couldn't get carried away with him here and now. I had to fix this problem with Anton and the Duke. I had to fix issues for my Empire before indulging in what I wanted myself.

I knocked on the door. Glad that he answered a moment later even with the shocked expression on his face. He looked a moment as though he wanted to shut the door in my face but I moved inside. I couldn't let him avoid this anymore.

"I'm glad you are still awake Anton; do you mind if we speak for a few moments?" Not that I'd left him a choice in the matter.

"Of course, not your highness, I'm just surprised to see you." He stammered only a split second before schooling himself into the representation of politeness. "It seems inappropriate to speak here as opposed to another meeting room. People might…"

"Get the wrong idea." I finished for him. "Yes, but we'll want people to get the wrong idea if what I have in mind is going to work. Please, sit, we can't keep avoiding this discussion, your father wants an answer tomorrow and I have some things I need to ask."

"…" He seemed ready to say something, then thought better and shut his mouth, moving to sit at his desk after I sat on the edge of his bed. His attempts to remain proper were sort of amusing, I suppose he at least was well trained. I smiled at him for it, I knew he was none too pleased with my barging in but he handled it very well.

"Now, it's clear your father wants this to happen and he will demand an answer tomorrow I'm sure you know that too." I started as seriously as I could, my short burst of amusement gone from my face. "I want to do what is best for everyone involved but I need to actually talk to you about this Anton. You have been avoiding the topic since he brought it up at the restaurant but if you are going to be miserable in Dunwall why would I marry you? Do you think I am that sort of person?"

"It is not that your highness, you have been kind during your visit here and it is clear you care about your people." Anton answered. He was avoiding the topic of his lover. Had his father really pushed him to believe that his interest was wrong? Certainly, it wasn't the most politically sound relationship but such things weren't really that uncommon or overly frowned upon in the capital.

"If it is about Nathanial, that doesn't bother me. You can bring your lover with you." I put it out there, we lacked the time to beat about the bush now. He'd avoided me for too long. I heard a chuckle in my ear, the Outsider at least was entertained since no one else was. I wondered how much he'd laugh about this in years to come. Anton's mask had shattered at the mention of his lover, he couldn't stop himself from the slight hang of his jaw, the widening of his eyes at my remarks.

 _"I like that about you…you can dive in and rip the bandage off just to be done with it. Your ability to unload and disarm the people around you…"_

Dammit, the Outsider wasn't making this easier whispering in my ear this time. I didn't mind when his words helped me from making poor decisions about the future but it wasn't as easy when he was purring compliments into my brain. Was he trying to keep me flustered?

"You…know about Nathanial?" Anton's hesitant question brought me back to reality. He was still digesting what I'd said. "Are you serious? You don't mind him? Us? You wouldn't mind bringing him to Dunwall?"

"No, I don't expect us to marry for love." I replied, it was the truth. I had cared about Wyman but that had been unexpected as well. "I won't ask detailed questions about your relationships if you can remain discreet. I would expect the same considerations should I find someone I care about."

 _"Not going to tell him the Outsider is your secret romance?"_

I sort of wish he could read my thoughts so he'd figure out he wasn't helping!

"I…are you sure?" Anton sounded confused. I couldn't blame him. This was probably the last offer he ever expected to get when I walked into his room.

"As long as you plan to keep doing your job helping both of our peoples and the empire. The country is in need of a lot of help. There will be long nights and this will not be a vacation. I hate to admit it but your father was right about the country needing new blood. Something hopeful to distract them from the bloodbath that Delilah caused." I tried to explain my reasoning in more detail for him. "My first inclination on the offer of engagement was to say no but once I learned more I decided this was worth offering. We won't have some fairy tale, not other than in the eyes of the people, but in our positions, we don't have that luxury. We can still do the country good and have private lives people don't see."

"Yes." Anton hesitated little before accepting. "Yes, if you'll bring in Nathanial and you'll take him with you now to get him used to the capital. I accept."

"I'll keep him safe. I know your father doesn't care for him but I already have something in mind. I know I'm asking you to trust me on this, but please do. Even if we don't have a traditional marriage we'll need to trust each other." I stated frankly. "I'll need you to tell me if something happens, or if you hear of any threats to you or to me. Not just now but ever. Clearly there are people that would like to get the crown. If I thought you wanted to steal it then I wouldn't be even trying to make this deal with you…but I don't."

"I don't." Anton repeated back to me in assurance. "I know it's hard to prove but I do want the country to do well and I've always felt I owe more to the citizens than just living it up in a mansion. If you'll keep Nathanial safe and take him with you I'll do whatever you want me to your highness. I'll owe you more than you know."

"Emily, please." I said, amused at how much he seemed to think I was saving him. If he knew that it was as much being selfish would he be so grateful. "If we're going to have to pretend, we better start sooner than later."

"Emily. Thank you." Anton stated seriously, he was honestly grateful.

"It is little to thank me for." I denied the appreciation as best I could. "I am getting what I want from this as well, we are allies in this Anton. I hope that we can become friends."

"I hope so as well." The gratitude was still rich in the man's voice and I smiled when he walked over to hug me. "Whatever it is, or whoever it is, they are lucky to have you."

He was apt, a good sign since he would have to match up at court.

"How could you tell?" I asked, not bothering to hide that he'd guessed right about me already having a relationship.

"No girl would agree to what you are without someone they cared about…no noble at all." He replied. "People want their fairy tale endings unless they figure out they can only get them another way."

 _"He's a swift one…"_

I smiled at him all the same. He needed that. I expect he would be better at court politics than people knew. They wouldn't expect it of him since he could seem quite the innocent perfect gentlemen when he wanted to. The Outsider was right, he would be a good addition to the crown. The Empire would improve…that's what he'd told me and I could see it better now.

"You are clever, more than most would give you credit for." I observed.

"No need to win me over empress, I already agreed to your terms." Anton joked and I joined in him a light-hearted chuckle. I hoped we could keep that sense of comradery…but also, keep up appearances. He seemed capable of it, now if I would be able to do the same. I pursed my lips when the Outsider slipped inside, what was he playing at.

"My apologies your highness, and soon to be highness for breaking in but it seemed congratulations were in order." The Outsider bowed as he spoke, smiling at me despite my irritation with his appearance. "It seemed best to greet him in person, in the circumstances. He'll need to introduce me to Nathanial so I can take him to the boat."

"Your Royal Protector?" Anton's quickness came through again, he connected the dots just by the Outsider coming in. Of course, he didn't know the full extent of the truth but he'd already figured it out that we were in a relationship. "Well, like mother like daughter I suppose. I should thank you as well Artemus."

 _More than you know…_

"I should be saying that to you." The Outsider replied politely, the way he should be expected to. "Should I retrieve Nathanial and take him to the boat?"

"Yes, let me introduce you both…Emily, you'll tell father in the morning? It will keep him distracted while I help arrange things." Anton was still chiefly concerned with his lover's safety. I glanced to the Outsider and he nodded.

"Of course, it is for the best." I agreed.

The Outsider left with an excited Anton chatting in his ear, glancing back to me and mouthing 'soon' again. It wasn't soon enough. I wasn't convinced that this was actually for the best but at least I'd saved innocent men from a poor fate.

 _"Stay strong my Empress,"_ The Outsider whispered in my ear. _"Try not to regret, and I'll try to make certain you have no reason to."_

I smiled a bit after him despite my concerns. How did he know what to say so eloquently at some points and managed to be so utterly clueless at others? I took a deep breath after they left and nodded to myself. This was what I wanted, I wanted it now, and if I was doomed to regret I would do it later…I hoped that the Outsider would hold up those words as I walked back toward my room. We would have much still to do and keeping the boy safe until we reached the capital was a new job we possessed.

Soon he said, but soon wouldn't be today…

 **End Chapter**

Heh, everyone is so tricky. I skipped a day of politics cause the Outsider doesn't really care about the finite details really XD.

 _-Aura_

To my reviewers:

Thanks for the kind feedback, I'm glad people are enjoying it. I hope they continue to. I hope I get more time and more of my lazy muse to work so I can continue this sooner than later. : )

 _Grimm Kitsune_ – I think so…I think it works out well personally.

 _Sparda4_ – Emily can still use her powers but she just hasn't used them much or had much reason to really.


	19. Judgment

**Chapter Nineteen:** **_Judgment_**

 _"One's judgment is varied and dependent on all manner of circumstance. Personal choice can only come from the options one possesses. When there aren't multiple options is it fate when there seems only one choice or is one lacking the ability or desire to search for others?"_

 _Emily –_

My marriage was decided the way I might make a trade deal. But that's what it was, that's all it was…I wasn't marrying him for love but convenience. His, and mine. I knew it was good really, I knew the Outsider wouldn't lie to me about his presence being a good one for my Empire. Still, it felt hollow…mother may have never married father but I wondered if she would have had politics allowed it. Even if politics allowed me to pick anyone, I'd still found the one creature that the country would never accept given the overseers…I could see the high overseer turning shades no human should turn if he ever heard how I felt about the Outsider…

Anton was quite happy with the way it had ended up but I wanted us to be friends, as we wouldn't be anything more than that and we had a country to rule together…or would soon. Then the Outsider had stepped inside…had he known all along I would do this? Was he just waiting on me? He didn't have any sense of urgency that something more was wrong as he spoke with Anton. He congratulated us both, but I suppose this was to his convenience as well…that fit didn't it. My marriage being something so useful for everyone as opposed to passionate.

Anton was swift to press me the following more. To tell his father instead of him telling the Duke, he wanted to make sure this Nathanial was safe even though we'd already put him on the ship. He was in one set of quarters, the witch in another. It was growing crowded on that ship very quickly. A good thing we weren't staying since it seemed every day we picked up a new passenger. Still, I lingered a moment outside the Duke's office. I still was not sure if I'd made the right decision as to this, father would probably be less than pleased, but it was my life…I just hoped I wasn't making mistakes I couldn't recover from.

 _"Stay strong my Empress,"_ The memory of his whisper was light in my ear, a comfort I hadn't expected. _"Try not to regret, and I'll try to make certain you have no reason to."_

I smiled a bit again at the memory of it. That he could offer me strength even when he wasn't actively filling my ears with information no human should have. What did I have to fear with the closest thing to a god in our world at my back? I pushed my way into the office where the Duke and several attendants were looking over maps.

"Your highness." The Duke rose from his desk and a few politicians stood suddenly as well around him from where they'd been leaning over plans for a new area of the dock. I smiled at him, gesturing him to sit again.

"This is your home Christian, please sit." I said with wave of my hand as I approached. "I've come to speak to you of important matters. If you wouldn't mind the interruption that is, I could…"

I didn't even get to finish the offer of coming back later.

"We'll finish this afternoon, take a break." He told the others at the table, he probably didn't even realize he'd interrupted me. He was all too eager to be related to the crown. I was disturbed but I didn't show it, I couldn't. In the end, I knew well his reasons thanks to the Outsider, I could empathize even if I didn't agree. I waited until the others had left and took a seat.

"I spoke to your son, I didn't want him to enter into something without being happy as well you understand." I stated, a bit amused at how swiftly his eagerness darkened, then brightened again at my next statement. "We have agreed to an engagement and the terms."

"Wonderful, I expect you'll both be quite happy." He was grinning ear to ear.

My next statement crashed his good mood, and I had to admit that I was sort of enjoying watching the yo-yo of emotions on his face. His wife's death had left him less good at covering up how he was feeling than he'd once been. Time would probably fix that. "We will be taking Nathanial with us, to Dunwall. My Royal Protector is already getting the boy used to his room on the ship. Anton will follow later. We each agreed it was the best for all involved and I hope that you don't mind us taking one of your attendants."

"Of course, you are welcome to your majesty." The Duke stated, having finally managed to school his expression. "Are you certain you wish for that servant, we have many that are better attendants."

"Yes, I understand having an attachment to specific servants after a time." I replied, staring at him and waiting for him to notice that I knew what it meant. "Anton and I agreed specifically to these terms, I expect we'll both be very happy and I hope you are the same."

Thankfully the Duke read between the lines well, and he nodded to me. "You are an oddly merciful lady Empress Emily, I obviously wish both of you only the best. I and Driscol will support your reign and that of your children."

"Thank you Duke Van Daken. For both a husband and for your ongoing support. I feel much better about leaving Driscol this evening than I did yesterday." I answered honestly. I doubted he would make a move against Nathanial this way, now that he knew I accepted his son's interest in the same sex. Now that he'd gotten past the unexpected approach he seemed tired but appreciative. I'd managed to save the family from itself I suppose.

"Thank you, Emily, honestly…I want you both to be happy." He repeated, but it was more genuine this time. I smiled in the same way, relaxing a bit, it seemed he understood my intentions well enough. "I hope there will still be children."

"I want that too Christian. "I replied, though I doubted it would be the case I couldn't blame the man for seeking what most men would. "I should go and finish the last of my briefings. We have a lot more to plan than we already did."

"Indeed, I look forward to seeing Dunwall again." The man looked a bit like a weight had been lifted. He may not understand me fully but he appreciated the way things had turned out all the same. All without us needing to speak as frankly as I had with Anton. I let out a sigh after I left the office, feeling as though I'd stayed an execution of an innocent man.

By evening we'd be back on the way to Dunwall, and soon I'd be losing the physical part of the Outsider and letting everyone know I'd be gaining a husband. I still felt unsure, even knowing it was all for the best, I just had to focus on the present, and try not to regret as he had asked.

 _Outsider –_

My judgment was clouded…influenced by something ironically outside my usual patterns and behaviors. Being mortal…it was the same as being selfish. To survive it was a human requirement and yet I had never admired that attribute of the creatures I'd watched for centuries. Here I was however, on the precipice of desire and I realize just how tempting that leap away from reality can be, that drive to smother my greater consciousness in my dreams…my desires.

I was a man now after all, and I had all the desires that one would expect of such. Who wouldn't where my royal empress was involved? She was beautiful, not simply of body but of spirit…the deeper part of her that I'd seen before, the part that had driven her mercy and caused this issue was the very part that most drew me to her. It was rare that I was conflicted, I had little reason to be conflicted in the void after all, but now I was left considering just what I should do with my prize. Emily had agreed to marry another for the sake of being with me, with few questions asked and little hesitation given. It was an insult to her open acceptance of me that I considered any of this at all, but there was more at stake than her feelings, than mine.

The void required a representative, and I'd been the kindest it had of that much I was certain…Delilah obviously couldn't handle the power and I could only imagine the darkness that would leak into the world were I to leave her to it. The girl didn't know what she was asking for after all. There was also the matter of Emily as a whole.

How many times had I interfered on her behalf, offered my mark or pressed those that possessed it to keep her safe? People I'd never intended as targets, actions that pushed me beyond my normally neutral presence in the world. Even here I was putting in a personal effort I shouldn't and yet I'd safeguarded her long before I wore this mortal guise. Was it some subconscious understanding in the voice of the future even if it was cloudy to me. That some part of me always knew I'd come to feel this way about her? Or was that simply my projecting hopes onto otherwise reasonable actions to keep Delilah from taking power? I wondered…

I glanced down at the boat, we would be leaving soon but I was spending the time in preparation while Emily showed our new guests around on the crow's nest. Observing from a distance, unseen, that was how I'd spent dozens of centuries, a habit that did not die so easily. I watched the pair of men follow her with interest around the lower levels of the boat, seeing through the floors and walls was of little consequence. The pair of them was happy, would be happy for the foreseeable future pending any events I couldn't predict. Just as well, that would reflect onto the city and therefore Emily…another time I'd interfered when I could have left it alone.

All the same I couldn't help myself…I knew this was selfish…that I was no better than many of the mortals I'd looked down on but I hadn't felt in so long…I was in the room waiting for her when she returned. I'd meant to speak to her about my trepidations but we didn't get the chance to exchange words. Her lips pressed into mine with a fervor that spoke more deeply than any uttered syllables could have…

 **End Chapter**

I realize the part with the Outsider is fairly short here, but that's because I like to warn people before citrus stuff is incoming after people complaining previously about not being warned. This and next chapter I'll offer a warning at the start. I expect it will be hard to write but hopefully I'll do it justice. Either way I'll also try to set an end of citrus sign as well.

 _-Aura_

 _P.S._ RIP the Dishonored series, I'm not a fan of where the DLC went. I shall have to make it by with my little side world. Worked on my fic today despite college draining me lately…hope it's still all right.

To my reviewers:

Thanks for all the kind words. I am gonna try to get back to this and finish it as school allows. I probably shouldn't have taken the break today but I was just so bummed with how DotO went I needed something nice Outsider wise to work with.

 _The Whispering Sage_ – Aw thanks, I'm glad people are still reading. I don't want to let the story die. I certainly plan to keep it going for a bit yet, particularly with the DLC coming out in Sept. If I can I'd like to work it in. Maybe have an Emily vs Billie action go on depending on what that story is like.

Grimm – Glad you agree on the marriage often being something just required in this age.

Tomas284 – Naw, I doubt there's much that could make me like Delilah…

Duklyn - Thanks, though I think they must have poor writers as a requirement for DLCs after this last one…I'm judgmental XD


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